The Fight
by lrbworks
Summary: Fairy Tail High and its students welcomed Lucy Heartfilia with open arms. More specifically, a certain club at FTH welcomed her - a fight club. Well, they welcomed her after she accidentally punched one of their members in the face. Members of this club brawl with students from other schools competitively in one big competition, and somehow, Lucy found herself in the middle of it.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Being the new student was not as terrible as others made it out to be. It _was_ unsettling being thrown into an entirely new environment with entirely new people, but there was no occurrence of eating in the bathroom alone, or being laughed at for unknown reasons. Overall, the few people she met today were actually very kind and welcoming (and even if they hadn't been, Lucy Heartfilia was as resilient as they come, so she could have molded easily into the crowd of students).

She moved across the country with her father due to his business and something with a "headquarters relocation." In all honesty, she hadn't caught a word from her father's lips after she gathered all of the information she needed to know. _We're moving to Magnolia, on the other side of Fiore. I know it is abrupt, but it a necessary…._ Blah, blah.

The bell rang abruptly, dragging the blonde from her thoughts and signalling the end of her second day at Fairy Tail High. Lucy took her time gathering her books since she was in no rush to return to an empty house, clutching her belongings to her chest and rising to her feet.

She had no trouble arriving at her locker, forced to stand within a very close proximity of the wall due to the hordes of students bustling through the halls.

"Lu-chan!" a delighted voice greeted her and then she met the eyes of Levy McGarden, her first (and quite frankly, only) true friend at this school. They have nearly identical schedules, although Levy is in a different language class. The blue-haired girl had approached her first period the day before, offering quite nicely to show her around and then inquiring her about her life before Fairy Tail High. The pair became fast friends, exchanging numbers by the end of second period. "Hey, I can't show you around town until later! Something came up with the librarians and they need my help." _Okay_ , so _maybe_ Lucy and Levy had spent a lot of time talking about books, and that was one of the reasons behind their immediate friendship. "I'll be done in like an hour or so, so you could just wait around school if you want and get to know the place better. Sorry!"

"I'd like to see more of the school," Lucy nodded, a smile overtaking her features. "It's alright, Levy. Just text me when you're done."

"Okay, see you, Lu!" Almost as quickly as she appeared, she disappeared, clearly in a hurry to get to the library.

Lucy smiled and looked at her feet, genuinely happy that someone wanted to be her friend. At her previous school, she did have friends, but she was well aware that many of them were forced friendships for business reasons - many of her former classmates' parents worked, to some degree, with her father. So it was nice, in her opinion, to be able to call Levy a friend without wondering if she was just in it because of her family and its fortune.

* * *

As she strolled through the nearly vacant halls, Lucy remembered how Levy had listed all of the clubs of which she was a part. She recommended that Lucy join at least one, but it was hard to choose right off the bat. The mention of a book club piqued her interest, but she wanted to explore a variety of other areas as well (plus, said club was in the middle of a rather lengthy book, so she decided to put that idea on hold until Levy gave notice that they finished said book).

One club in particular really caught her attention, though: _creative writing club_. She absolutely loved writing. However, the club typically shared their pieces with the other members, and she wasn't sure she could do that. Just the idea of someone reading her literary works caused her face to flush a deep shade of pink, and she let her head drop.

A puff of air left her lips in a sigh. "Why is it so hard to pick a club to join?"

Lucy was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps, nor did she expect the owner of those footsteps to collide right into her. "Ow!" Both of them landed on a jumble on the ground, and rubbing her rear was all Lucy could do to soothe the pain.

"-sorry!" She only caught the last tidbit of the apology the other person sputtered out. It was a girl who appeared to be about Lucy's age, with short white hair and crystal blue eyes. And as she held out a hand for Lucy, "Are you new here?"

"Yeah, today was my second day!" Lucy announced excitedly. This girl seemed like someone she could get along with. "I'm Lucy."

"My name is Lisanna." A smile. She proceeded to check the time on her phone. "I'm so late! Sorry, Lucy, but I really need to go. I'll definitely see you around!" With that, Lisanna continued on her mad dash towards the opposite end of the school.

It was about ten minutes later that Lucy happened across a small gym, one that wasn't used for physical education classes. And what did she hear? "You're going down, Ice Princess!"

She sweat-dropped, peering around the doorway into the room. There were a few mats set up, but in the middle of the room were three mats pushed together to make a large square, where two boys stood - one with dark hair, and one with pink hair. _Pink hair?_

Her eyes flitted to the group of people a little ways away from them, and she immediately spotted Lisanna chatting away with another girl who looked much like her. Lucy guessed that the taller one was older. Both of them were stunningly gorgeous. Seemingly involved in their conversation was a brunette wearing yoga pants and a sports bra, but the outfit wasn't what caught Lucy's attention - it was the flask from which the girl took a sip. _They let her drink in school?_

A blue-haired girl and a redhead were observing the two boys on the mat (the bluenette seemed to be cheering for the dark-haired male, while the redhead appeared mildly irritated). There were other people scattered on the far side of the room, too: a blonde male was also watching the boys with a lack of interest while three companions of his spoke to him; a burly white-haired man was encouraging the boys to fight while shouting about "being a man"; another bluenette, looking awfully young, sat on a stack of mats near a dark-haired boy who looked about her age; in the far corner stood an intimidating man, his face lined with piercings and a mane of dark hair flowing down his back. A few others were in the room as well.

All she could manage to do was suck in a gasp of breath when the two boys, front and center, started throwing punches, kicks, and whatever other kinds of offensive moves they could muster up. Lucy felt herself leaning further into the room, but she was too preoccupied watching the fight to care. Concern stirred in her chest, but none of the others seemed fazed by what was going on right in front of them.

As a precautionary measure, Lucy's father had signed her up for self-defense classes, but she quickly ascended to taking an actual martial arts class. Her teacher told her she was a natural, although her kicks were much stronger than her punches, and recommended that she take an advanced class. Her father was against it, so she continued practicing and utilizing the skills she obtained from mediocre martial arts. However, what she learned was no match for the moves being displayed before her at that moment.

Neither one of them landed a winning blow, or even a blow that indicated one of them _might_ win. They were equally matched, according the Lucy.

The pink-haired one stopped fighting for a moment, his attention ensnared by something other than his brawl. _What's he - oh, wait - oh, oh no._ He was staring directly at Lucy, and she was staring directly back…

...right before the dark-haired boy punched him square in the face, causing him to stagger back a bit. Lucy jumped back outside the gym, no longer observing the fight. A blush was sprawled over her cheeks, heating up her face, and she let her head drop. She didn't mean to get caught watching the fight, but all she could wonder was _why_ they were fighting. _Is it some sort of club?_

"Yo."

As if on instinct, a shriek (sounding much like " _kyaaa!_ ") left her throat and her fist shot out, colliding completely with the face of the person who approached her. _This just keeps getting worse._ A horrified expression contorted her features when she realized the person whom she socked in the face was the pink-haired boy who had just caught her watching his fight.

"I'm sorry!"

"Do you punch everybody who says hi to you?"

"I didn't mean to, I was just thinking and I didn't hear you-"

"Are you new?"

The question caught her off-guard. "Ye… Yes!" Her face was still red because all she could think was _I punched him in the face_ , but she gained her confidence back rather quickly. "I'm Lucy."

"Natsu." He gave a toothy smile.

Despite the fact that he looked prepared to speak more, Lucy caught sight of the clock behind him and beat him to the punch (figuratively, _this_ time). "Oh! I need to go meet someone. Sorry about hitting you - I'll make it up to you!" With that said, she turned on heel and jogged down the hallway, keeping her eyes out for a blue head of hair.

* * *

"You yelled 'kya' and punched him in the face?" Levy questioned once more, obviously failing to suppress the masses of giggles that erupted from her throat. "Way to make an impression, Lu-chan!"

"Levy!" she practically whined, burying her face in her hands. They had been talking about the clubs Lucy was considering, which caused the topic of her encounter with Natsu to resurface for the third time. Lucy peeked through her fingers, any traces of embarrassment missing from her face as she leaned skeptically towards the other, scrutinizing her. "I still can't believe _you_ are part of a fight club."

"They're my friends! We have lots of fun, although they can get a little rowdy sometimes." At this thought, Levy put a finger on her chin, tilting her head to the side. "And they've gotten most of our members kicked out of a lot of places. But it's like one big family!"

Something stirred inside of Lucy's chest. Sadness? Not quite. It almost seemed like _envy_. Yes, that had to be it. She was envious.

Lucy hasn't felt the joy of having a family to depend on, to have fun with, since the death of her mother. As soon as her disease overtook her, Jude, her father, buried himself in his work, apparently lacking the time of day to even talk with his daughter. Sometimes she would go days without seeing her father and she used to cry about it, but by the time she reached age ten, it was expected that every time her father left the house, he would not return for the next few days. So hearing someone talk so joyously about having a family, blood-related or not, brought those harrowing thoughts to her mind.

"It must be nice," she said finally, a small smile on her face. The blonde forced the thoughts back into the locked portion of her mind out of which they had broken, meeting Levy's eyes with a cheery expression of her own. "It sounds really cool!" It _did_ sound cool, and exciting, but after seeing the match between Natsu and Gray (Levy had informed her of the pair's habit of constantly and inconveniently brawling), she doubted she would make the cut for being even _half_ as good as everyone else.

"You should join!" Levy prompted her, leaning forward with literal sparkles in her eyes. "It would be so much more fun! Everyone in the club would love you!"

"I'll think about it." She offered an eye-squinting grin, giving Levy a thumbs up. Truthfully, Lucy _has_ been thinking about it. She has been considering it ever since she scurried away from Natsu. Lucy was an okay fighter, nothing too extraordinary ( _like_ , if she was somehow attacked by someone with moderate fighting experience, she could probably defend herself). She was above average in the intellect department and really good at thinking outside the box and working her way out of messy situations, but were these qualities of any use when it came to being part of a fight club?

"Good! That's what I wanna hear! We have a match tomorrow and I'm coming, so you should come!" Levy exclaimed. The bluenette proceeded to check her phone and her happy expression fell. "Oh no! I'm totally late for dinner! You can get home okay, right, Lucy?" The blonde nodded. "Okay! I'll text you later, Lu!" Lucy watched her friend depart with a smile, before glancing at a clock. She should head home as well.

By the time she made it home and ate dinner, she was ready for one thing: a _bath_. As she submerged herself in the water, breathing in the steam and allowing her muscles to relax, something Levy said struck her once more.

 _ **But it's like one big family!**_

A content sigh passed through her lips before they curved into a ghost of a smile. The more she thought about how Levy described the club (with complete enthrallment and adoration), the better it sounded. _Maybe_ she would give the fight club just a _little_ more thought.

* * *

 _ **[ Hey guys! This is not only my first fanfic on FFN, but also my first fanfic that I've actually published! I hope you enjoy this first chapter and constructive criticism is very welcome! Thank you! ]**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

She didn't know what she should've expected from a fight club match. Somehow inside of her mind, Lucy imagined a small mass of students lining the bleachers, not too much enthusiasm, but when she stumbled into the large gym, peeling off her gloves, scarf, and long peacoat, she was met with a wild crowd. People were decorated in school colors, some even going as far as to paint their faces - and many people held signs in the air, although none of the fighters had arrived in the room to see them. It seemed that the fight club was a rather big deal.

Levy had granted her special permission to visit the preparation rooms in case she decided to come, but Lucy decided to solely visit the one belonging to her blue-haired friend (albeit, Lucy struggled to find it since the competition was being held at the school of the opposing team). The door was open, and when Levy looked up to greet her friend, they both smiled widely. While Lucy was garbed in a long-sleeved pink turtleneck, black skirt, tights, and knee-high boots, Levy was dressed in a sports bra and legging capris, lacking shoes or a proper shirt; it was odd to see each other so out of school uniform.

"Lu-chan, you made it!" Levy greeted, rising from the stretches she had been doing prior to the blonde's arrival.

"I couldn't miss your fight, could I?" Lucy teased, leaning against the doorframe. "How tough is the competition?" If her cheeks hadn't already been red from the bitter cold, then they would've flushed with color, because she _knows_ that Levy had already responded to the same question from her multiple times.

However, she didn't seem bothered by the question. "I heard they're good."

"I bet you're better." She hadn't even meant to say it, but it slipped past her lips and was received with a smile.

"Thanks, Lu!"

"Levy, you're up." A sudden voice spoke from behind Lucy, causing her to nearly topple over in fright.

When she craned her neck to get a view of the person behind, she realized that it was the redheaded girl. _Ah, what did Levy say her name was? Wendy? No, that was the little one… Hm…_ "Erza!"

Lucy was met with the piercing glare of the other woman, and leaning against the doorframe was all she could do to prevent herself from cowering under her powerful stare. "Who might you be?"

"This is my friend Lucy! Lucy, this is Erza," Levy introduced them happily, sliding past them out the door. "C'mon, Lu!"

"Okay!" Lucy nodded, jogging to catch up to her friend - then spinning around to wave to Erza. "Nice to meet you!"

Erza gave a small smile, mimicking her wave. "Likewise."

It turned out that Levy was actually an exceptional fighter. After leading Lucy back to the gym and ordering her to stay "right there," the shorter of the two took her place across from her opponent.

She wasn't as strong as the other competitors may have been, but she was agile and quick in her movements, able to hit critical points on the boy's (the boy was introduced as Ren) body. However, where Ren lacked the speed to match Levy, he made up for it by strength. Once he got a clear shot at Levy, she was sent stumbling backwards, but her resilience from the shot was " _awesome_ ," as Lucy said aloud. The fight lasted for nearly ten minutes before Levy was able to take Ren down, not unscathed herself.

This fight club was a lot more intense than she thought it would be.

As Levy walked over, slick with sweat, Lucy handed her a water bottle. "You did great!"

Then, as if on cue, a majority of her team burst into cheers behind Lucy. _They were behind me the whole time?_ she thought as she cringed away, startled by the sudden noise. Almost immediately, though, the second battle began between Wendy and a blonde boy, Eve, and it was during this round that Levy properly explained the rules.

Every time there was a match, five players from each team were selected to compete by the team. Sometimes there were one-on-one brawls, like the ones occurring as they spoke, but sometimes they had longer tournaments (a majority of these tournaments were held on the weekends), where the teams of five competed in events other than one-on-one matches. There was a time limit of fifteen minutes for each one-on-one, and if neither player was down by the end, then it was a draw. However, the winner is proclaimed when the loser either forfeits, is pinned down for more than ten seconds, or is rendered unconscious. Lucy was told by Levy that the latter was a more common occurrence. If a person joins a fight club, they must sign a waiver claiming that the school board is not liable for any temporary or permanent injuries.

"A FTFC member hasn't lost a battle by tapping out before. We're pretty stubborn," Levy laughed, scratching the back of her neck. "We don't like to give up. If we can stand, we can fight."

Lucy couldn't help but smile, a sense of admiration bubbling within her chest at the look on Levy's face. Warm. This club, in spite of the violent throwdowns occurring at every match, seemed to have a very familial aura - and it seemed like something that she, herself, could appreciate.

Odd timing as it was, her phone vibrated in her hand, drawing her attention away from Wendy's battle with Eve and to the illuminated phone screen, which notified her of a text from her father.

 **Lucy, I will be going on a business trip until the very end of this month to close a very important deal. I expect that you will be on your best behavior. The workers will be around the house for a few hours each Saturday.**

It was typical for him to leave so suddenly, so for the first few moments, she thought nothing of it. Her phone was placed into the pocket of her jacket, and she let her gaze find Wendy once again. The younger girl seemed to be losing the match, and it was proved when she fell onto her backside, too exhausted to really move. She didn't tap out, though, waiting for a few seconds before rising to her feet - shakily. Eve looked reluctant as he took up his stance once more, easily dodging Wendy's fist and instead forcing her to the ground, knee pressed to her back and his hands holding hers down. Ten seconds passed and the referees called the match, granting a rightful victory to Blue Pegasus.

That was when it hit Lucy. _Until the very end of this month._ It was the second day of December. She would be alone on Christmas once again. Every year, she got the same news: her father would be away for Christmas and New Year's, and she knew she should be used to it by now. Every year, though, it still hurt, waking up to an empty home and realizing that no one would be celebrating Christmas with her. She usually spent the day sleeping, or writing to her mother, or marathoning something on Netflix. She usually spent the day alone, but it still hurt every time she did.

As some of the Fairy Tail club members aided Wendy to the infirmary, Lucy leaned towards Levy, barely able to whisper. "I'll be right back." She didn't leave the other with any more details, and she didn't meet the concerned stare she felt boring holes in her back.

Unsure of where to go, Lucy roamed the halls for a few minutes before deciding instead that she needed a breath of fresh air. _Cold_ , but fresh air. She could only thank the skies above that she remembered to slip on her jacket before exiting the building. For awhile, she walked, putting a distance between herself and the excitement going on inside of the school.

Crystal-like snowflakes drifted from the sky, and she glanced up for a moment, watching her hot breath dance away into the crisp air. Through a break in the clouds, she could see one star shining brighter than the others, seemingly twinkling, _winking_. Something told her that her mother was watching her.

She had to drop her gaze to the ground, her lip quivering as she fought to hold back her tears. Lucy missed her mother. _Oh_ , she missed her mother more than anything in the world. Layla Heartfilia was one of the kindest souls in the world. She gave everything to help people, and she was repaid with death. _It's not fair._

Lucy brought closed fists up to her face, wiping away tears that had slipped down her cheeks before a sob passed through her lips. As soon as her mother died, she lost her father, too. He was there, physically, but he offered no emotional support. He distanced himself until he treated her professionally, unlike how a father should treat a daughter. He left her all alone. She was _all alone_.

Suddenly, a face popped up in her mind.

" _You're new here, right?! My name is Levy!" The girl grinned warmly, offering her hand for a handshake._

 _Lucy looked up, surprised by the sudden welcome, but she accepted her hand nonetheless with a bashful smile. "Yeah, today is my first day. I'm Lucy."_

 _Levy took the seat next to her and began chatting away, and Lucy couldn't help but feel comfortable with this girl. They talked about books and continued onto the topic of a novel Lucy was authoring, and all the blonde could do to conceal her reddened cheeks was hide her face behind her hands. "I wanna be the first one to read it!"_

" _Wha-?" Lucy stared at Levy, mouth agape._

" _C'mon, Lu!" The nickname made her lips quirk up the tiniest bit as Levy continued. "I bet you're a great writer! I'll even help you edit it if you want!"_

" _Thanks," Lucy breathed, astonished not only by her forwardness, but by her_ kindness.

" _What are friends for?"_

 _ **Friends**_. She wasn't alone, she realized. Levy was her friend - and she decided it then. She would join the fight club, no matter what, because even if no one else liked her, she still had Levy.

Just then, she heard the crunch of snow under feet. Her frigid fingers swiped the last traces of tears from her eyes and she glanced around, her stomach doing somersaults when she was unable to spot anyone. It was dark and she was alone, a good block away from the lively school. It was time to head back, she opted, walking rather quickly towards the school building in the distance. Perhaps it was nothing.

She hoped it was nothing as she came closer to the school.

She found she was wrong when she stood before the school, something prodding at the back of her leg, causing her to squeal in terror.

It was a _dog_. A fluffy white dog, clearly without a home judging by its emaciated appearance and low whimper. Her eyes glanced from side to side, double-checking for an owner, before scooping the small creature up and wrapping her scarf around it, providing temporary warmth. A small smile made its way onto her lips as she raised her eyes to the heavens once more, the star still there, shining away.

"I'll just text Levy-chan that I went home," she mused, more to herself than to the dog. "I'll have to stop at the pet store on the way home, too, huh?" This time she peered down at the puppy, pursing her lips. "I think I'll name you Plue."

She started walking back to the parking lot, ignoring the numbness of her gloveless fingers as she trekked through the snow. Something felt wrong, though.

Her suspicions were assured to be correct when she saw a group of dark figures coming her way, hoods pulled over their heads as if to conceal their faces (it didn't do a very good job of it, but it sure did add to the creepy vibe they were emitting). Lucy stay firmly on the edge of the sidewalk, allowing enough space for all three of them to walk past her without any trouble.

She wished.

They stopped about ten feet away from her, and she could feel her heart skip a beat as one of them looked at her. "She's a pretty thing," one of the three grumbled to the others, earning short whoops and cackles. He stepped towards her, blocking her path. "We want everything you got."

"What?" she questioned stupidly.

"Money. We want money, blondie," the burliest one snorted, as if _blondie_ was an insult.

"I don't have anything with me…" Her voice trailed off, lost with the wind.

"Well, then, we could think of another payment method," the first one hinted knowingly, a dark smirk pressing on his features. He took another step forward, prowling like a lion on its prey.

But he wasn't a lion, and she wasn't his prey. He was a human, and so was she.

Lucy didn't like the look he was giving her, so she pressed her lips together in a nervous manner and glanced over her shoulder. "I should get back to the school."

"No you don't," someone stopped her as she turned around, and she realized that a fourth man had crept up behind her.

 _Damn it_.

She only hugged Plue tighter to her chest, backing away from him and closing her eyes tightly. Then -

Lucy spun around, foot high in the air as it collided with the head of the man nearest to her. She was surprised at the force behind it, but then again, her martial arts instructor had always told her that she was better with her feet. She couldn't waste much time thinking back, though, because the other three were fast approaching.

A slight squeal left her mouth when one of them made a grab for her, and she shot a hand out, knuckles connecting with his nose hard enough to send him stumbling back onto his rear end. Lucy could take on one guy, maybe two if they were weak enough, but _four_ clearly strong men were overpowering.

But like Levy, she was _quick_.

She ducked under the arms of one of the men, sprinting past him and making a beeline for the school. However, she didn't make it far before something pushed her to the ground, earning a face-full of snow. "Get off of me!" she demanded, elbowing the assailant wherever she could hit - his neck, to be exact. He choked, gasping for breath, and she wormed her way out from under him, scooting back. Two were down, but the one she had punched had risen again with a bloody nose.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, you know," one of the remaining men sighed, as if the whole situation was _her_ fault.

"You guys are pretty lame, taking on a single girl like that," someone spoke from behind her, moving forward and casting a dark shadow over her. She looked up, and found the face of someone familiar - _Natsu!_ He was the one that she had accidentally punched in the face. _Oh_.

"You gonna mess with us, kid?"

"You messed with Luigi first."

She felt her cheeks burn up and a sudden embarrassing anger coursed throughout her. "It's _Lucy_!"

Natsu seemed to ignore her, though, as he leapt forward and took on two of them at once. Her eyes followed his movements - he wasn't a very graceful fighter, but he was powerful and quick, which was what really counted. He knocked them both down in a few hits, and they were sent away dragging their buddies.

Lucy stared at his back, lips slightly parted and embracing the dog rather tightly. "Thank you," she blurted, and he turned back to her, a cheeky grin on his face and a hand scratching his neck.

"No problem, Lucy," he beamed, offering a hand to help her up. "Let's go!"

"Go?" she asked, accepted the hand anyway and following as he began to pull her along.

He stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. "You wanna join the club, don't ya?" Another grin lit up his face, and she found herself smiling too.

"Yeah, okay!" she agreed, laughing and jogging alongside him as they made their way back to Blue Pegasus High. There, they encountered some of the club members waiting: Erza, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel, and Levy.

Not one of them could have ever forgotten the beaming smiles on Natsu and Lucy's faces as they greeted them.

* * *

 _ **Hey guys! So this was the second chapter of The Fight. It's a little bit messy, but I'm hoping my writing gets better as it the story goes on!  
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading it! **_

_**One of the main themes/motifs of this story is going to be the idea of familial and friendly love, aside from romantic love (as this is a NaLu fic). It's going to be a big thing, so some parts are going to focus on relationships between Lucy and characters that aren't Natsu (i.e. Lucy x Levy), but the main focus is definitely NaLu. Just a heads up!**_

 ** _Constructive criticism is welcome with open arms! Chapter three will be up ASAP, too! :)_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The idea of joining as a member of the fight club was a lot more glamorous than the actual process it took to join. As there were many risks, there was paperwork, and she spent a good hour pencilling the night away after the match. Natsu had been rather insistent that she joined the club as soon as humanly possible, so the group escorted her to their "hangout place," as Gray referred to it.

There, she met the club's supervisor and principal of her school, Mr. Makarov. He was _really_ short. _Ah, Lucy! Just call me Makarov. All the kids do._ Though, she noticed, Natsu and Gray referred to him as "Gramps" rather than "Makarov."

Lucy had finished the paperwork at about one in the morning (luckily for her, the match took place on a Friday night, so she didn't have to worry about being too fatigued for school), and by the time she handed it back to Makarov, she realized that everyone else had fallen asleep around her.

Levy had been next to her, aiding her with the specifics until Lucy got the hang of it, but now her head was resting on her folded arms, a little bit of drool dripping down the side of her face (and Lucy totally did _not_ take a picture and set it as the girl's temporary contact picture, nope). As she looked more around the room, she found Gajeel in the corner, arms crossed with a dark-furred cat on his lap, sleeping with a permanent scowl on his face. _Scary_. Erza had passed out on the couch, Wendy and Lisanna accompanying her. Gray, somewhere along the way, had stripped down to his boxers and lain across a table, the blue-haired Juvia unconscious with her head on the table and hand on his arm. Natsu was on the floor, snoring like a chainsaw with a blue cat - " _Why is he blue?" "Why aren't you blue?" "That doesn't even make sense."_ \- sprawled over his chest. Even Plue fell asleep on her lap, though she resorted to holding him in her arms once she stood. Many others were strewn across the room, low breathing and loud snoring filling the comfortable silence.

"They really are like one big family, aren't they?" she murmured to Makarov and Mira, the only other conscious person besides Mirajane and herself. The blonde was unable to suppress the small smile that lifted her lips.

"They're your family now, too, Lucy!" Mira grinned cheerfully, her head tilting to the side. They got along almost immediately, and Lucy knew that Mira was doing her best to make her feel at home. It struck a positive cord in Lucy's heart, apparently, because Lucy blinked her watery eyes and gave the other a thumbs up.

"I guess they are!"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" A lightbulb lit in Mira's head (Lucy could practically imagine it happening). "This-" The silver-haired woman proceeded to pull out something that resembled an ink stamp. "-is what gives everyone their Fairy Tail emblem! Everyone in the fight club gets one-I guess it's our little way of representing our family!" The way she said 'family,' so casually and lovingly, caused Lucy's smile to grow even wider.

"Is it permanent?" she inquired. Though, the permanence wasn't her main concern; rather, it was the wrath of her father if he spotted a tattoo on her skin.

"We have a formula that takes it right off!" Makarov assured from beside her rather loudly, holding up the elixir as proof. "Now pick a color and a spot and you're all set!"

Lucy hesitated before extending her right arm, palm-down. "I'd like it on the back of my hand! And pink, please." Pink _was_ her favorite color, after all. Mira did as asked, and the pink Fairy Tail mark made its appearance mere seconds after Mira pulled the stamp away. "Thanks, Mira-chan!"

* * *

That all happened the night before. The next morning, Lucy Heartfilia woke to a silent house - as expected. When the golden rays of sun came pouring in through her window, she tossed and turned for a few minutes, pulling the blankets over her head to shield her eyes from the burning light. A high-pitched groan flooded the room, cut off immediately by a yawn a Lucy sat up, arms raised high above her head. Plue released an indignant whine, but quickly turned over and dozed back off.

She checked her phone for messages, viewing a few from Levy.

 _What time did you leave last night, Lu?_

 _Welcome to the club! Makarov said that your membership is official!_

 _You should stop by the HQ if you're not busy today!_

 _I'll be there most of the day._

She snorted. First "hangout place" and now "HQ." Her first order of business as an official member would be to come up with a better name for the building where they spend most of their free time.

Her first order of business as Lucy Heartfilia, however, was to take a nice, long bath.

Once she submerged the majority of her body beneath the bubbling water, a breath of air blew the steam away from her face, her eyes closing and her head leaning back. Something felt lighter, as if a weight pressing down on her chest had been removed. She couldn't quite place it, but she had the distinct feeling that the reasoning revolved around a certain club.

Her phone vibrated on the edge of the tub, but she brushed it off, too enamored by the serenity she felt to be bothered with a text. _It can wait_. That thought occurred to her moments before her ringtone blared throughout the bathroom, reverberating off the walls. Adorned by a stubborn pout, she picked up the device, answering the phone with sweltering irritability. "Hello?"

"Lucy!" It was the voice of Levy, and Lucy really contemplated whether or not to drop the phone into the water. Not that she didn't already love Levy, but she was _really_ intending to drag her tranquil bathing out as long as possible. "Sorry I called, hehe." Lucy felt all signs of anger diminish - she couldn't help it. It was _Levy_. "Natsu and Erza were practically begging me to see if you planned on coming today." _Is that… fear in her voice?_ Lucy was informed that Erza could be pretty terrifying, but she wouldn't have said something terrible to Levy… would she?

Umber eyes were trained regretfully on the water and then she was pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes closed and face displaying a clear look of impatience. "I'll be over in half an hour."

"Thanks, Lu-chan! See you soon."

"Bye."

She kept to her word, quickly trading the comfort of warm water for the chilling air. By the end of twenty minutes, her hair was brushed and she was dressed in a white tank top, blue skirt, and brown boots. Thinking better of her wardrobe choice, she topped it off with a pink jacket, not even bothering to check how she looked as she slipped out the door.

"C'mon, Plue!"

* * *

Lucy was only slightly taken aback when she spotted three figures standing outside of the club hall (that was the temporary title it bore in her mind), blatantly awaiting the arrival of someone. It was clear that they were waiting for her when she spotted Levy and Natsu, Wendy sitting on the front steps with a white cat in her lap. Natsu was the first one to notice her, calling out her name with unexplained excitement. "Lucy!"

She laughed, lifting her hand into the air and waving happily. Plue yipped at her side. "Hey guys!" Maybe it was worth it to get out of the bath.

"You got your mark!" Wendy chirped when Lucy finally stood before them, and it took her a moment before she understood what the blue-haired girl was talking about. She held her hand out in front of her, the smile staying put on her lips as she stared at the pink insignia.

"Yeah, Mira gave it to me before I left last night!" she almost gushed.

"Well, let's go inside, Lu-chan!" Levy suggested with a quick gesture to the closed door.

Lucy nodded, skipping up the few steps before pushing the door open. It was dark inside, the only sliver of light casted by the sun behind her, and it was just as silent as it was dark. That was _before_ someone switched the lights on behind her, and a loud "surprise!" resounded in the room.

" _Eh_?" she squeaked, eyes wide.

"Think of it as a welcome party!" Mira shrugged, the everlasting smile still planted on her lips.

Someone slung an arm around her shoulders, and Lucy's head tilted to find that the perpetrator was Natsu, who was grinning down at her. "Welcome to the family, Luce!"

 _Family_.

Lucy Heartfilia hasn't really celebrated anything since before her mother died all those years ago. The Christmas after her mother's death was the first Christmas she spent alone, and then she found herself alone on New Year's, too. Her birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving. Holidays, to her, became just another day out of the other three hundred sixty-five. No one had thrown her a party for as long as she could remember, so people whom she just met in the last week throwing her a party was beyond bizarre.

But in a good way.

She must have looked like she was thinking hard about something, because when her eyes refocused she found Natsu waving his hand in front of her face and the entire room of people looking at her.

"Thanks, you guys!" she suddenly exclaimed, her voice upbeat and an ecstatic smile on her face.

"Club photos to commemorate the moment!" Levy declared, handing the camera to Makarov without hesitation. Everybody squeezed in so that every member could fit into the photo, and only then did Lucy realize how large the club actually was. Natsu once again threw an arm over her shoulders and Gray squeezed in on her other side, reaching behind her but not touching her. She didn't question why, only smiling brightly at the camera. Makarov called out something along the lines of "a few more," but she was too distracted by Natsu suddenly jumping and shouting at Gray. _Oh_. They were busy bickering as the camera went off a second time, and she was sure she looked mildly panicked in that photo as she looked at Gray. The third time the camera click sounded, Gray and Natsu were both on the ground and Erza stood beside her. Lucy laughed.

The next few hours passed them by in a similar manner. There were laughs, fights, and even tears, in some cases.

By the time the third hour of the party concluded, Lucy was standing by the bar, casually chatting with Erza about the rival schools' fight clubs. Erza relented from trashing the others teams (Lucy already would've expected different from Natsu or Gray, even though she hasn't known them for long), instead going into vivid detail of the strengths and techniques used by certain people. Some of the most challenging teams to deal with were Lamia Scale High, Raventail High, and Sabertooth High. Before Lucy could ask another question, though, a chair was sent hurtling Erza's way, breaking upon impact.

 _Either those are really flimsy chairs or she's made of steel._ Her eyes found Erza's. _Or both. Definitely both._

When a lamp crashed against Erza's back, the last straw broke. Lucy could only watch in horror as her new companion threw herself into the mass of club members, all flailing in rough attempts to land a blow on one another.

Deciding for now that the best route to take would be the one full of disregard, Lucy turned around, hunched over and sipped her drink through a straw, acting as if a war hadn't broken out behind her. From what she's witnessed, she could gather one piece of information: there was not a single sane person in the club.

Something brushed against her leg and she jumped out of her seat, hands in the air and terror clear on her face. Then she slumped over, glaring at the offender, Happy. Nonetheless, she picked the little guy up, settling him on her lap as she reclaimed her seat.

"I think you fit in just fine here," Lisanna said suddenly, hopping onto the stool adjacent to Lucy's. When Lucy lifted her head, confusion was clear on her face. "I could tell you were nervous you wouldn't belong here, but you don't have to worry about that." She let out a giggle, tilting her head in a way that reminded Lucy of Mira.

 _They're definitely sisters, all right._ "Thanks, Lisanna," Lucy nodded, the feeling of uneasiness evaporating. So, maybe there was _one_ sane person in the club.

* * *

The weekend after the party flew by and before she could blink, she was back at school. During the first few days she was attending, no one spared her a glance, but that Monday, there were whispers in every class to which she went. It made her feel uneasy, and when she would make eye contact with the people who spoke in hushed voices, they would immediately stop talking and turn away.

During her final period, she decided to ask Levy about it. "Hey, Levy," she whispered, leaning over so that the teacher wouldn't hear her. "I have a question."

"What is it, Lu?"

"Everyone's been staring at me all day… Do you know why?"

"It's probably because you joined the club." Levy followed her sentence with a joyful smile. "They aren't used to people joining like that. Everybody in the club's known each other for awhile. Natsu and Gajeel are cousins, so that's why Gajeel joined (aside from getting to beat people up)." Levy gave a roll of her eyes, although an adoring smile played on her lips. Lucy would have to look into that later. "Wendy's their cousin, too. Romeo has known Natsu for a few years. Gray and Juvia met awhile ago. Cana, Bisca, Mira, and Erza have known each other for awhile, too. We were all connected in some way or another. You showed up and joined the club three days later without knowing anybody."

"Oh."

Lucy leaned back in her seat. That was a sufficient enough answer, but she still didn't like the creepy and lingering stares she got from everybody - so when her class ended, she skipped happily out of the room, to her locker, and prepared to go home.

Then she walked right into a wall. _Not a wall. A person._ She backed up a few steps, eyes skeptic before she realized it was Natsu.

"Hey, Lucy! Ready to go?"

"..." There was a long pause as Natsu grinned down at her. "Go?"

"Well, how else are you gonna train?"

"Train?"

"If you're gonna be my partner in the two-on-two, you're gonna need to train."

"Wait. _Partner_?"

It was too late. He had already turned heel and began leading the way, so she had no choice but to follow him.

"Natsu! When did I ever agree to be your partner?" Her protest was futile, apparently, because he just flashed her another grin.

 _Great_.

* * *

 **Here's chapter three! Sorry that it's kind of messy, but I'm trying to set it up for something else and I'm at a total writer's block. Chapter four will be posted some time in the next few days, so keep an eye out!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed! Tell me what you thought!**

 **Constructive criticism is, as always, welcomed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"This is not training. This is not even remotely close to training."

If looks could kill, Natsu would have been a petrified corpse on the ground, too far gone by the time he would even realize he died. Though, no matter how hard she glared at him, he always remained unfazed. In spite of her annoyance, the corners of her lips twitched up with the threat of a smile - but she would not dare succumb to it.

Apparently Levy had been made aware of their training session, because before they left the school she was suddenly by Lucy's side, offering a change of clothes. Lucy accepted them gratefully, reluctant to train in her school uniform. Before she could tell Natsu that she was going to change, he was already making a beeline for the boys' locker rooms, so Lucy turned and made her way towards the girls'.

That had been roughly thirty minutes prior. At the present time they stood before what appeared to be an indoor playground: multiples slides, small shelters (that were labeled _TREE HOUSE_ , but Lucy was sure that there was not a single tree inside), monkey bars, swings. The place seemed like a child's wonderland-so the question as to why nobody was there was roused in her mind.

"No one really comes around here anymore," Natsu beamed, as if reading her thoughts. "The owner still lets me use it whenever I want, though."

"Oh. I see." Lucy nodded.

Twenty minutes later she was clinging to the monkey bars, her palms burning and her toes unable to even graze the ground. Her cheeks puffed out and she narrowed her eyes at Natsu, who seemed to have no trouble hanging on. They had been at it for over ten minutes and he was holding on with just _one_ arm. _Not fair._ "How long do I have to do this?" she huffed, and he just shot her a grin.

"As long as you can!" was his response.

"Okay," she sighed, finding it easier to just accept everything he says rather than challenging it. Then again, "Hey, when was it ever decided that I was gonna be your partner?"

"When I signed us up for the two-on-two matches for the competition on Friday," he said in a 'duh' tone, rolling his eyes.

Her eye twitched at that because she was really asking when _she_ decided, but she brushed it off. "Why me?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you pick me? You barely know me and I'm clearly not the best fighter," Lucy pointed out. She wasn't looking for pity or trying to put herself down. She was stating the facts. Out of almost everyone in the club, she was the least experienced, having just joined a few days before, so it made no sense for one of their best fighters to want to partner with one of their… not-so-best.

"Because you're nice," he shrugged, and Lucy's grip slackened entirely before she fell right onto her rear. Her cheeks were tinged with the slightest shade of pink as she gawked up at him. _That_ was his reason?

"'Nice' isn't going to win a fight." Her words came out sharp and quick, but not harsh. As flustered as she was, it was hard for her to speak normally.

He glanced down at her, his fingers still loosely wrapped around the metal bar and his knees still bent. Then he grinned. "I know." A pause. "The two-on-two matches are different than the one-on-ones. There's a big square mat, about twenty feet on each side. If you get pushed off of the mat, you're out. But it's about teamwork! And Erza told me I need to pick a teammate this time who I get along with…" He almost _pouted_ at the mention of the 'she-devil,' as he liked to call her. "Gray and I tried to team up last time, but that snowflake didn't understand the concept of a team!"

Lucy stared at him. She knew what _actually_ happened, judging by his facial expressions and his general behavior around the aforementioned 'snowflake'. _Gray and I tried to team up last time, but we ended up fighting each other more than our opponents._

"So we're a team now, alright?" Natsu was off the monkey bars, extending a hand out to her like he did the night she joined the club.

His smile was _contagious_. She soon found her lips blossoming into a huge grin and she accepted his assistance. He help her stand before she nodded giving him a thumbs up. "You got it!"

"Alright, so I already know you've got a wicked right hook," he began, almost mocking. Confusion lit up her face for a moment before her cheeks reddened. She almost forgot that she had punched him the first time they spoke. "What else can you do?"

"I'm better with my feet than my hands," she admitted, wringing her fingers together behind her.

"Then we'll start working on your hands! In these fights, anything goes, so you'll need to be able to use your hands if legs are trapped."

"Okay."

It was only five minutes later that she was knocked onto her butt _again_ , fuming. Natsu could envision steam coming out of her ears and he laughed. "You need to remember to be on the defensive, too, Luigi." He wasn't anticipating her foot sweeping at his legs, knocking _him_ clean onto his butt.

"It's _Lucy_." She was scowling, arms crossed and looking away from him.

He knew her name.

"Okay, let's go again." Natsu sounded excited to beat her again, but she was nowhere near thrilled to get back up. She examined him with a watchful eye; his mop of pink hair was sticking out in all directions, a white scarf tied around his head only drawing more attention to the area. He had a permanent smirk on his lips whenever he wasn't grinning and he had this childish air about it. It was frustrating yet wondersome at the same time.

Ignoring the immense irritation she felt (probably because she was fighting on of Fairy Tail's best fighters, who she kept losing to even though he was going easy on her), she straightened herself up, sliding easily into a fighting stance - but then he was by her side, one hand on her stomach and one hand on her forearm.

" _EH?_ " Before he could even speak, Lucy launched her fist into his face, forcing him onto the ground a short couple of feet away from her. "Haven't you ever heard of _personal space_?"

"I don't see what the problem was," he grumbled, rubbing his cheek where she had hit him. Truthfully, it had been one of her hardest punches in some time, so she was only mildly surprised to see the large red mark coloring his skin. "I was just tryin' to help."

"You were touching me without permission!"

"You get touched without permission in a fight!"

"Not like _that_!"

"I was just gonna show you how to move!"

"Give me some warning next time, idiot!"

"You're not nice at all! I take it back!"

"Boo-hoo!"

They turned away from each other, arms crossed and pouting like children. Tension seeped into the air and they stayed like that for a few minutes.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder, eyeing his back. "What were you gonna show me?" she mumbled, face still hot with anger.

He perked up, mimicking her casual look over the shoulder before meeting her eyes and jumping to his feet. She stood as well, wary brown hues following him as he made his way to her. The red blotch on his face had turned a gruesome blue, but he didn't seem to mind. _He's probably used to it._

Every muscle in her body seemed to tense when he grabbed her arm again, this time more cautiously - she could see him waiting to jump back if a pale fist came soaring his way. "Relax, Lucy!" he almost laughed.

"Easier said than done," she snorted, stifling her voice when his hand was once again placed on her stomach. He seemed oblivious to the intimacy of such a touch, so she did her best to ignore it as well.

"Don't pull your fist back before you punch. The people you're going up against look for things like that." He paused, slowly guiding her arm forward until it stuck out in a straight line. "Try to punch in a without an arch. Use your hips for movement instead and tighten the muscles in your belly. Then aim for where it hurts the most! Now try it on me but in _slow-mo_!"

He relinquished his touch and she felt like she could breathe again. She did as told, slowly outstretching her arm and using her hips as rotation. To her amusement (not really, she was rather bothered by the fact that she continuously lost), his hand rose in slow motion, forearm taking the 'hit' and his arm doing the same thing hers did - so she mimicked his action, blocking the punch and sending its course askew.

The pair trained for a few more hours. Natsu would demonstrate different moves for her, both offensive and defensive, and then tell her to use them when she felt right. Most of the time, he eventually knocked her to the ground, but kept praising her every time he recognized a technique.

By the time they wrapped things up, both of them had a few bumps and bruises, but Lucy only cringed at the sight of the dark bruise on his face. She felt kind of bad, but he _did_ touch her without her permission.

"I can give you a ride home and then we can meet up at the club hall afterwards," she offered, watching in amusement as his complexion shifted from tan to a sickly shade of green. The entire time he had been in the car, the only sounds emitting from him were moans and groans, and occasionally he would try to throw himself out through the window. "Or you can _walk_."

"I'll walk," he said bluntly, marching towards the door. She caught him by his ear. " _Lucyyyy_."

"Stop whining, you big baby." Her eyes rolled. "Don't you take medicine for your motion sickness?"

Face still green, he shook his head. "No."

"I might have some at my house. I'll bring it to you at the hall. For now, just deal with it."

* * *

It was only forty-five minutes later that Lucy showed up at the club hall, Natsu right behind her. They had both showered (Lucy, before promptly kicking his ailing butt out of her car, told him he reeked of sweat and was in desperate need of shower. All she got in response was a moan.) and both of them brought their backpacks.

"Hey Natsu, why weren't you and Lucy at practice today?" Wendy questioned innocently, flashing Lucy a small smile.

"Yeah, Flame Brain, why are you hogging the new girl?" Gray cut in, arms crossed.

"Your clothes, Gray," Cana snapped absentmindedly, causing him to look down in horror before beginning the scavenger hunt for his clothes.

 _At least his underwear stayed on this time_ , Lucy thought with a sigh.

"Lucy and I were training by ourselves since she's my partner for the two-on-two!" Natsu explained happily. Then he proceeded to the bar because something smelled 'delicious,' if Lucy had heard him correctly.

" _You're_ competing in the two-on-two?" Cana asked, eyebrows raised. Lucy assumed newbies didn't participate as much in events like that.

"I didn't really have a choice," she admitted breathily, a hand on her forehead as she thought about it. Cana laughed a little drunkenly. "Who else is competing?"

"The sheet's right over here!" Wendy led her over to a table where two papers sat. One was labeled _TWO ON TWO,_ while the other was labeled as _ONE ON ONE_. Every space on the former sheet was filled in, but the latter paper still had quite a few spaces left. "You don't get to pick your opponent - just the order you go in. Whoever chose to go at the same time on the other team is who you fight. A lot of people fight in here for first and last."

Lucy nodded in acknowledgement, scanning the names on the two-on-two list.

 _ **Erza & Mirajane**_

 _ **Elfman & Lisanna**_

 _ **Natsu & Luigi**_

 _ **Gray & Juvia**_

 _ **Laki & Bickslow **_

She rolled her eyes, picking up the pen left on the table and rewriting her name as _Lucy_. So there were only five teams for the two-on-two, and ten matches for the one-on-ones. Out of the ten matches, only three names were filled in. _Erza, Gray, Natsu_.

"People usually wait until the day before to sign up for the single matches. I don't know why, but it's just the way we do things," Wendy explained sheepishly, her cheeks a light pink.

"Do they do the two-on-twos first?" Lucy asked, looking over her shoulder at Wendy with genuine curiosity. A voice in her mind tried to convince her to put her name on the second sheet, but -

"Yeah! Are you thinking of signing up for a single match?" the younger of the two inquired.

"Um… why not? I'm gonna get my butt kicked in a single match sooner or later. I'll take sooner," she nodded surely, scribbling her name down for the fourth slot.

"Then I'll sign up too! I'm sure you'll do great, Lucy!" The fifth slot was filled in.

"If the newbie is competing in a single match, then so am I!" a voice rose above the rest.

That declaration escalated quickly into an all-out brawl for the five remaining spots. Lucy dragged Wendy out of the way of the path of destruction, passing Natsu who was rather cheerful about joining in on a pointless fight. Levy greeted the two with a laugh.

"So how was training with Natsu?" she asked, eyebrows rising suggestively.

"It was… okay. I punched him in the face and left a nasty bruise," Lucy admitted, ignoring the looks from both Levy and Mira, who was behind the counter.

"So did you guys talk about anything?" Mira butted in, a smile on her lips as if she could do absolutely nothing wrong.

"We talked about fighting…" she trailed off, looking up at Mira and Levy's eager faces. Then she understood. "Just fighting. Nothing happened. Nothing will happen. We're just friends. Barely. I _just_ met him."

"Well I believe in love at first sight!" Mira swooned dramatically, clasping her hands together dreamily. "You two would be the perfect couple, I just know it!"

"I'm not interested in him like that," Lucy protested, glowering.

"If you and Natsu don't work out, I could picture you with Gray!" Mira continued babbling as if Lucy hadn't spoken. Suddenly, though, Lucy felt eyes on her, and she met the piercing blue eyes of Juvia Lockser.

"Are you trying to steal Gray-sama?" she all but hissed.

"W-What? No! I don't like him like that!" But it was too late. The idea that Lucy was a competitor for Gray's attention was already set in Juvia's mind.

" _Love rival._ "

Lucy cringed away from the eerie voice, focusing her attention on the fight. Almost every male member was involved, but Erza, Laki, and Cana had all gotten thrown into the mix as well. The blonde sighed, suddenly gaping as the two previously mentioned boys came flying her way, fists thrown in the air before they landed in a heap on top of her.

She could have sworn she saw stars before she came to and rapidly shoved both of them off her. "Get off!" she shouted, her voice lost in all of the chaos behind her. Both of them stood up after her, practically growling at each other, but their fury was dissolved when Lucy grabbed handfuls of their hair, slamming their heads together and then dropping them on the ground.

They both let out sounds that resembled "ow," but she stepped over them, snatching up her backpack hastily, angrily.

"I'm going home!"

* * *

 **A/N: This was kind of a filler chapter just to get the feel of how Lucy has integrated into the club. Like in the show, they're all very welcoming and immediately accept the fact that she's a part of their family now.**

 **The two-on-two fight will probably be next chapter, and possibly the one-on-one match as well! :)**

 **Anyways, I would like to take a second to say thank you to all of those who have review my story:  
 _RandomObserver42  
_ _newyorkie48  
_ _AppleDapple  
binglebop  
_** ** _Hanbear  
_** ** _BitterSweetTeas_**

 **Thank you all so much for the nice reviews! Also, thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, and followed the story so far! I hope you're all enjoying it!**

 **The next chapter will be posted ASAP! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Friday morning, Lucy awoke sniffling and sneezing. _It's just a minor cold_ , she assured herself, foraging for some medicine in the cabinet. _I can still fight tonight. I won't let the club down._ She took the medicine quickly and poured a glass of orange juice, leaning against the counter in nothing but a robe.

Her house was still empty, and it was going to remain empty for a long while. It was rather lonely. The home was vast, complete with many unnecessary rooms and high ceilings - as if her father needed to flaunt his fortune to his guests (it was good for business, but Lucy found it rather obnoxious). Everything seemed to echo and her only company was the thick silence that befell after each noise she made; she made them loud on purpose.

After downing her beverage, the blonde sped to her room, getting ready in record time. Her hair was tied into a simple high ponytail, held together with a dark blue ribbon that match her school uniform. With a sling of her backpack over her shoulder and a shove of her phone into her pocket, she was out the door.

Lucy expected to feel a lot more nervous about the day she might get pummelled in by someone twice her size, but she actually felt the complete opposite. The training sessions with Natsu extended from three hours to five, then to six, and although she complained about how he had been 'overworking' her, it improved her fighting skills immensely.

The night before, Lucy hadn't even gone to the club hall, too exhausted to do anything except for shower, homework, and sleep. Given, she didn't even finish her homework, but Levy generously sent her the answers when Lucy explained that she had been fighting vigorously for six hours with only short breaks in between. She remembered the conversation that had taken place between her and Natsu, a light smile breaking out on her face before she could help it.

" _Hey Natsu, do you think we're gonna win?" she questioned, wiping the sheen of sweat from her forehead and taking a large gulp of water._

 _The pink-haired boy collapsed in a sitting position next to her, not nearly as worn out, but close. Still, he gave her a thumbs up, the goofy grin showing all of his teeth. "Of course we are!"_

 _Lucy felt more comfortable with their chances of winning when she realized how skilled of a fighter Natsu really was. He had been the one teaching her, and he told her honestly that she already made big improvements. Still, there was no guarantee, and she knew that. One wrong move and they could both be thrown off the mat._

" _What makes you think so?" she hummed casually. Her gaze drifted lazily around the room, too disinterested in anything to actually focus on it. Eventually she just stared into space, thinking._

" _Because we make a good team! As long as you have my back and I have yours, there's no way we could lose!" he explained it a-matter-of-factly. "Plus, I'm not gonna let some wimpy kids from Raven Tail beat me! I could take all of them on at once. We're definitely gonna make it to the championship again!"_

 _Lucy nodded in false agreement, deciding to just go along with what he was saying. A wide grin was on her face, though, because she would definitely have his back._

"Aaa-choo!"

She sneezed as soon as she pulled into the school parking lot, a low groan of agitation emanated from her as she rested her head against the steering wheel. "I _refuse_ to let some _stupid_ cold stop me from fighting in the competition tonight!" she practically shouted, tugging her schoolbag from the passenger seat and storming out of the car.

For the most part, her determination smothered all of her symptoms, but one or two sneezes and coughs snuck through. They brought Levy's attention onto her, but Lucy waved the girl off, claiming that she had "accidentally swallowed some spit" or her hair was "tickling her nose." She didn't seem fooled, but Levy backed off.

The school day passed by faster that Lucy wanted it to. Honestly, she wanted more time to mentally prepare herself for the fight, but it was no use anyways. A few stray students in her classes wished her luck in the matches today, boosting her confidence a million times over. There were going to be people rooting for her; her friends - her _family_ was going to be rooting for her. She had it in the bag.

She got ready in Levy's preparation room, since Levy was the only person who didn't share it with at least two other people. It wouldn't matter anyways, since Levy didn't have to prepare. She wasn't participating in the night's competition.

Levy had brought Lucy some clothes, as she always did, and they casually chatted as Lucy got ready. She was dressed in black shorts and a red sports bra that displayed the Fairy Tail insignia on it, her hair tied into a high ponytail once more with a red ribbon.

At some point Natsu strolled up behind Lucy, whispering "boo" in her ear. A shriek left her lips as she whirled around, fist at the ready, but he was clearly prepared for it this time since he caught her hand. "You ready, partner?" he grinned.

She glared up at him for a moment, trying to maintain an angry appearance and failing miserably. "You betcha!"

His face became a mask of seriousness as he looked at her, and she felt small under his gaze. "I know you're new. The team does. Everyone does. So don't worry if you feel like you need to step out. And if you can't knock the other team unconscious, do your best to push them off the mat, alright?"

Lucy swallowed, nodding meekly and echoing, "Alright."

The usual cheery attitude reappeared. "See you in a few minutes, Luce!" Then he was bounding down the hallway, followed by Happy.

"What's with him?" she huffed, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at Levy. "One minute he's all goofy and himself, then he's suddenly serious, and then back to normal."

"He _liiiiiikes_ you," Levy teased.

Lucy seethed. "We're _not_ like that! I have to go."

"Lu, wait!" Levy called, catching her by the wrist. All signs of humor were gone from her face, and Lucy had a sense of deja vu. "Raventail doesn't play fair. Their principal is Makarov's son, and they have a very estranged relationship. They cheat… a lot. So promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," she nodded, forcing a smile. _Way to make me way nervous._ She was thankful, though, to know that Levy was looking out for her.

* * *

Lucy had made her way over to Natsu to watch the first two matches with him, but she could barely focus. Her mind was elsewhere, skimming through every single move and technique he had taught her over the previous days. The cold she had brushed off earlier was begin to arise again, but she suppressed each and every sneeze and cough that dared to arise. She was allowed to be sick after both of her matches, and that was that.

All she could grasp from the fights was that Fairy Tail had won both times, and then she and Natsu were standing on the mat. _Okay, this is the real deal. Lucy, this is your first fight. Don't mess up too bad,_ she spoke to herself inside of her head, then quickly shook away the thoughts. She needed to focus.

"Round three! Fairy Tail is in the lead with two wins! Will Raventail be able to catch up? This match is one of Fairy Tail's best, Natsu, and the club's newest recruit, Lucy-" Cheers erupted from one side the stands as their names were announced. "-versus Raventail's ferocious Flare and Obra!" Hoots and whoops erupted from the opposite set of bleachers, making it clear which team each body of students supported.

"You ready, Luce?" Natsu asked excitedly.

"Definitely!"

They high-fived, grinning at each other as the signal to begin the match sounded. Each tag team match lasted for a maximum of twenty minutes, but rarely did any of them extend to such a length. For one team to win, both opponents on the other team must be knocked out, pinned down, or knocked off of the mat.

Natsu charged right in, throwing a furious punch at Obra. Lucy decided that he could handle the taller guy and turned her attention to Flare, who was staring at her with a sickly grin on her face.

"C'mon, Blondie," she taunted, tilting her head. "Show me what you've got."

"You asked for it," Lucy warned, walking swiftly forward and pulling her fist back. Flare lifted her hands, preparing for a punch that never came. Instead, Lucy's leg rose, unseen until it was too late. The redhead was kicked to the side, almost off the mat - _almost_.

Lucy's attention flickered to Natsu for a brief second. He was evenly matched with Obra: while Natsu had a high level of endurance, Obra's ability to dodge was stunning.

She was so distracted that she almost didn't notice Flare sprinting towards her, but in the nick of time she leaned back, watching with wide eyes as the fist meant for her jaw flew by her face. _What do I do?_ A sharp elbow hit her in the chest instead, knocking the wind from her lungs and forcing her onto her butt. Flare's foot met her back and Lucy practically rolled, landing on her hands and knees. Another kick, another punch, kick, punch. Lucy couldn't breathe right, but she couldn't just stop fighting.

 _So don't worry if you feel like you need to step out._ No. She would not step out. They would have to render her unconscious before she lost the match. It didn't matter to her that she was new, or that she wasn't used to it. It didn't matter that she grew up rich and unharmed, kept away from any physical danger. The only thing that mattered was fighting for her team. Her mind fell back to a week ago, when Levy had explained everything to her. _If we can stand, we can fight._ She had to fight. Her fists clenched.

"What's wrong, _Blondie_? Giving up so easily?"

"You _wish_ ," she scoffed, staggering on her feet before steadying herself. Heat overwhelmed her and her head throbbed; she had a feeling it had little to do with the fight. However, soon enough, the heat and the pain faded.

Flare tried to kick her again, but Lucy caught her leg in the air with both of her hands, watching the panic flash across her opponent's face before pulling on the girl's limb. The sudden tug brought Flare closer to her and before Flare could escape, Lucy jabbed her elbow into Flare's chest, much like the other had done to her only moments ago. As the redhead fell, gasping for breath, Lucy eyed Natsu.

He seemed stunned by something, and she had heard something faintly from the announcer about a harsh blow to Natsu's head. " _Idiot_ ," she whispered. If he was knocked out, then that would leave _her_ alone against two opponents, and she was struggling with just the one.

Natsu's dark eyes were glossed over and he didn't seem to see Obra standing in front of him, nor the way Obra's arm pulled back for the big K.O. If he didn't snap out of whatever daze he was in, they were done for.

Lucy found herself moving towards him, following instinct. She couldn't take the hit for him or she would be out of the round for sure, and she couldn't push him down from her angle without pushing him straight _into_ the punch.

So she slid. Admittedly, the feeling of the mat rubbing against her skin burned, but she couldn't be bothered to care too much. One of her feet kicked Natsu's ankle, causing him to fall backwards with only one foot still on the ground. Her hands shot up to support his back to he wouldn't fall all the way.

She couldn't see the way his breath left his lungs when he felt one of his feet leave the floor, the way his eyes widened when he felt the small hands stretched on his back, nor could she have seen the grin that lit up his features when he watched the would-be punch soar right over his head and realized that it had been _her_ that stopped the hit from ever meeting its intended mark - his face.

" _As long as you have my back and I have yours, there's no way we could lose!"_

Obra looked just as shocked as Natsu had been moments before and the pink-haired boy took it as his chance. His one foot remained planted firmly on the ground, and, counting on Lucy to brace him for a few moments longer, he brought his other foot up as hard as he could between Obra's legs (and, as much of a laugh his guildmates would have, Natsu was thankful that the male was wearing a cup to guard his _parts_ because he didn't know if he could live with the guilt of destroying another man's chances of having children), sending him flying over both Lucy and himself, clear off the mat.

Suddenly he lost his support and fell, stupefied for a moment as he watched Lucy upside down. Flare had caught both of her fists and wore the smirk of a victor on her lips, but that look vanished when Lucy brought her foot up and slammed it into Flare's chest. The Raventail girl joined her partner, off the mat.

Lucy smiled down at him, reaching a hand out for him to take - and he did. Cheers erupted from the students of Fairy Tail as the referee named 'Team Natsu and Lucy' as the winners, and they were unusually loud from the club members. Lucy supposed it was because that match had been her first ever.

Natsu slung an arm over her shoulders, leading her to their teammates with a proud grin. "I told you we would win!" he exclaimed, earning a laugh from her.

Lucy's face was flushed red. She was burning up and her throat was sore, making it the tiniest bit harder to breathe. She neglected it still, knowing that she only had to make it through one more match and then she could be sick.

"That was awesome, Lu-chan!" Levy smiled, handing a cold water to both of them. "Where'd you learn to do that ankle kick thing?"

Lucy chugged the water for a moment before staring at Levy, a bit dumbfounded before she remembered what had taken place moments before. "Oh, I didn't really learn it anywhere. I just did it and hoped for the best?" She visibly cringed at her own words, realizing how lame they sounded.

"You weren't even sure it would work? You risked knocking your own partner down?" Natsu asked, acting offended.

"Yeah, well if she hadn't, then she would've had to take on both of your opponents by herself, Ash Head," Gray pointed out snarkily.

"You wanna go, Ice Princess?"

Lucy walked away from the argument, needing to clear her head. The heat was getting to her now.

"That was an excellent match," Erza commended her, and Lucy's heart almost skipped a beat. _Erza_ was praising her? She couldn't believe it. "You would've been a goner if you hadn't done that." Okay, that put a damper on it, but Lucy wasn't going to be picky if it was coming from one of the best fighters in her club.

"Thanks, Erza!"

"Next up, Gray and Juvia of Fairy Tail versus Kurohebi and Nullpudding of Raventail!"

Lucy's attention was finally starting to zone in on the match when -

"Lucy!" Wendy appeared in front of her, eyes alight with wonder and amazement alike. "That was amazing what you did out there! I can't believe you just joined the club! You and Natsu make a great team!"

"You really do!" a familiar voice said from closeby. Lucy could feel her eye twitching at Mira's comment.

"Well, it's not over yet! I still have another match to go!" she informed Wendy, who nodded eagerly.

"Lucy's gonna be awesome!" Natsu grinned, startling both of the girls.

 _Does he appear out of thin air or something?_ "Don't flatter me," she smiled, cheeks flushed with both bashfulness and the intense heat she felt. "You're making me feel way too confident right now!"

"Thanks for saving my butt back there," Natsu nodded, suddenly looking out of place. He probably didn't thank people so sincerely on a regular basis, she imagined.

"No problem! You know, your kick was pretty cool," she pointed out, remembering how astonished she had been as she watched Obra flew off of the mat.

They chatted idly to pass the time by, keeping one eye on the match. Things seemed pretty tough and Lucy realized that she had seriously underestimated the Raventail members before the fighting actually began.

That thought was pushed to the back of her mind as she looked around at her fellow club members. Everyone was laughing, talking amongst themselves, or watching Gray and Juvia's fight very intently. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves, no matter what they were doing. Lucy thought about how nice it was, to feel like a part of something - a part of a _family_. Something stirred inside of her, something sad and happy at the same time, but then she felt an arm around her shoulders and the familiar warmth. Her stare locked on Natsu, who was shouting back and forth with Elfman, before he turned to her, grinning cheekily. She smiled back.

 _This is where I belong._

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, yes, two updates in one day! I couldn't wait to post this, so here it is!**

 **I don't particularly think my fight scene was written too well, but I don't think it was awful, either. I wanted it to be intense, but at the same time, I wanted the reader to be able to picture the moves in their mind!**

 **But yes, here is the fifth chapter! Chapter six will be up either tomorrow or the following day, and it will definitely have Lucy's single match!**

 **Anyways, thank you to all who review this story, fave it, and follow it! Thank you for taking time out of your day to read it, too. :) I hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Lucy was getting really hot. Every inch of her body felt as if it were being exposed to the summer sun and her skin was shiny with sweat. She had already excused herself to go to the bathroom, and in there she cleaned herself up before returning to the gym (only to find out that Gray and Juvia had lost their match, both having taken quite a beating, as well as Laki and Bickslow).

Erza walked onto the mat for her single match and faced someone who towered over her. Lucy never caught his name, but it didn't seem important since Erza took him down within the first minute of the match.

Gray didn't have as much luck. Lucy felt sorry for him, because he definitely needed rest after his two-on-two, and he even ended up fighting against an opponent who matched the strength he had before his first fight. The match dragged out, both students evidently exhausted, and eventually it ended in a draw as they reached the time limit.

Natsu seemed as spirited as ever, bounding onto the mat and cracking his knuckles. She caught him say something along the lines of "I'm all fired up" but her hearing was groggy and her head felt fuzzy, so she couldn't trust herself too much.

"Hey, bunny girl, you don't look too good," Gajeel muttered from beside her. Levy had departed from them to go speak with Erza about something 'important,' but she and Gajeel hadn't even spared each other a glance until then.

 _Bunny girl?!_ She let out a deep breath, forcing her mind and vision to clear. "I'm fine," she assured, flashing her award-winning smile. "Just a bit nervous for my first single match."

"Y'er an awful liar." He didn't pry, though. She could tell that he wasn't the type to get too far into other people's business.

Both of them returned their attention to the main attraction of the moment. Lucy's eyes followed Natsu's every move, picking up on the different methods he used in fighting and how he used them, even recognizing a lot of the ones he showed to her. He feigned a punch and kicked his opponent instead, sending the poor girl flying across the mat. She got back up, though, sliding like Lucy had before and kicking Natsu's ankles. He was faster than she. The kick did strike him, but he only stumbled before regaining his balance - and then he knocked her down when she tried to stand, pinning her down with one knee on her back and both of his hands pinning her arms down. He won.

Of course he won.

Everything was hazy as she made her way to the mat, her name announced once more, followed by the name of her opponent: _Flare_. Her eyes widened when she took in the sight of the other girl, grinning almost maliciously. She attempted to get rid of the fog clouding her senses. She _had_ to. The promise she made Levy, to be careful, filled her mind, just as she felt Flare's fist meet her ribcage.

Something was wrong, though, and she could tell that the other team wasn't playing fair when she fell back. The muddle of her mind only made it harder to get back up, but she did.

She purposely allowed Flare to hit her again, realizing definitely that Flare _was_ cheating. The girl donned black gloves, as did a few of the other members of Raventail, and under those gloves Lucy could feel it: metal. Lips parted, Lucy prepared to call her out on her underhandedness, but Flare beat her to it. She kicked Lucy aside, stealing whatever words were preparing to bubble up, and she hit her, again, and again, and again.

Lucy was thankful that Flare relented from landing any blows to her head, but she couldn't quite comprehend anything. She knew why she couldn't focus. It was all because of her damn _cold_. Gajeel was right about how terrible she looked, and she would put a wager on the fact that she felt even worse. Her senses were too disoriented to fight, but she couldn't give up.

She couldn't move. Flare dug her knee into Lucy's back, only one of her hands pushing the blonde's arms to the ground, the other closed in a fist and putting pressure against her spine. Lucy let out a quiet cry, because it _hurt_ , and finally allowed her head to rest against the mat, eyelids beginning to flutter.

 _Natsu had her pinned down, one knee on her back and his hands holding her wrists loosely above her head. She was exhausted, air leaving her lungs in desperate pants, and she knew that Natsu could tell. "You're down," he stated bluntly._

" _So I lose." Her voice was shaky._

" _No."_

" _What?"_

" _If you're pinned down, you have ten seconds to get up. Some of your opponents won't have a leg on you. Some will hold you down with one hand. Some of them won't hold you down tightly. Use it to your advantage. Get out of there by the time the ten seconds are up."_

" _How?" she whined, unwilling to move._

" _Fight."_

"I can't lose," she mumbled, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her head cleared temporarily, allowing her complete access to unobstructed senses. "I'm not going to lose."

 _Ten._

 _Nine._

 _Eight._

"What was that, Blondie?" Flare questioned mockingly, leaning over to hear better. Lucy could feel the girl's hair dragging across her back, her grip loosening ever so slightly on her arms.

 _Seven._

 _Six._

 _Five._

"I'm _not_ losing to you," she gasped. _All it takes is one good hit._ Her muscles ached, but she managed to pull one of her arms from Flare's grip, bringing it back to elbow the girl square in the nose. The impact was enough to shock Flare and allow Lucy to throw her adversary off her, granting her a moment to sit up. "I won't lose to a cheater."

Lucy watched as Flare stood, unsure if she would be able to stand properly herself. That didn't stop her from trying. Her knees felt like jelly below her as she hobbled backwards, her arms dead-weight at her sides.

Flare looked angry, very, very angry. She charged towards Lucy, but Lucy slipped out of the way, swinging her foot around in a roundhouse kick that connected with Flare's abdomen. As she fell to the floor, Lucy jumped on top of her, straddling her, her hands on Flare's wrists and her legs locking the other's down.

The girl struggled beneath her, but Lucy only tightened her grip, leaning down to speak to Flare as the countdown reached _zero_. "You're lucky you ended up facing me, Flare, because if my other teammates realized you were cheating, you wouldn't just be pinned down."

"The win goes to Fairy Tail!"

Cheers erupted from the bleachers, as well as from her friends. Lucy climbed to her feet, leaving Flare trembling on the ground. The adrenaline that had given her an extra boost of power was long gone, her senses faltering and the aching in her head making its reappearance. She hurt all over, and the wrath brought upon her by Flare's concealed rings did nothing to help.

"Whoa, Lucy! That was awesome!" Natsu said, appearing in front of her. His voice sounded distant.

She smiled. "I won." Then she felt herself falling, falling, falling, the world going dark and silent.

* * *

Brown eyes drifted open, immediately greeted with a bright light. They closed once more, a low groan passing through Lucy's lips. Her head was pounded and she felt so congested, not to mention the immense pain she felt all over her torso. "Ow," she grumbled, lifting an arm to shield her eyes from the blinding light as she pulled herself to a sitting position.

Her eyes adjusted and she took in her surroundings. She was sitting on a bed in the nurse's office, still clad in her outfit from the tournament. Natsu sat beside her bed, his arms folded and his head resting atop them, clearly asleep by the sound of his motorboat snore. On the other side of her bed was Levy, in a position similar to Natsu's, her brow creased with worry even in her sleep. Gray sat across the room, snoozing on a chair, Juvia curled comfortably into his side. Erza was asleep with her back against the wall, one knee pulled up to her chest and the other leg outstretched. Lucy glanced at the clocked, which read _1:37._ She had been out for a few hours.

With a sigh, she carefully maneuvered herself around Natsu and Levy, a wincing when she stood up and stretched. Bruises lined her torso, some red, some blue, all looking similar to one another.

"You shouldn't be up," a voice said from her right. A pink-haired woman, presumably the nurse, sat at a desk, sifting through some files. Then she met Lucy's stare. "That was really stupid, fighting while you're sick. Your fever was way too high for you to even be out of bed. Lucky for you, I was able to bring it down so now it's only slight. You may experience a headache for the next few days, but you can leave. Don't overwork yourself again."

"Sorry," Lucy mumbled, looking at her feet.

"Next time you're sick, stay home." The words were sharp, adamant, authoritative, and Lucy could only nod in response to them.

Still, though… she _won_.

"Wendy brought your clothes for you," the older woman continued, and Lucy could detect a hint of fondness in the way she said Wendy's name. Then again, who _wasn't_ fond of Wendy? She was practically an angel on Earth.

"Thank you," Lucy said sincerely, gathering up the pile of clothes that she had been wearing prior to the competition: a white long-sleeve top, a blue skirt, dark thigh-high socks, and white boots. She took her time getting changed in the bathroom, splashing her face a few times to cool down, combing her fingers through her hair before tying it up in a high ponytail once more. When she walked out, nobody had moved except for the nurse, who had undoubtedly left the room.

Lucy smiled. They really did care about her, in spite of how recently they met her.

Deciding to gather the rest of her belongings from the preparation room, she trekked across the room, only to have her boot squeak loudly against the floor. She cringed.

"Huh?" she heard someone, immediately matching the voice to a pink-haired boy. "Lucy!"

His shout was louder than her boot, alerting everyone in the room that she was conscious and walking. They all roused into consciousness, unusually lively at such a time. A chorus of her name sounded out and she smiled, giving a joyful wave before scratching the back of her head. "Hey guys," she breathed.

"Are you feeling better?" Levy asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she approached the blonde.

"Yeah. I'm still sore, though," Lucy confessed, subconsciously rubbing one of the more severe bruises abdomen.

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Erza demanded, now towering over Lucy. A shriek got stuck in her throat under the glare of the she-devil. "It could have been a lot more serious. You shouldn't have competed in such a condition. Why didn't I notice earlier that you were sick? You were oddly pale and looked ill, but I couldn't put two-and-two together. I just thought you were nervous for your fight. This is all my fault."

"N-No, Erza… This is definitely not your fault," Lucy promised, eyeing Erza, who had turned to face the wall, with concern, hesitantly reaching a hand out. Her words had no effect on the dejected aura radiating from redhead.

"Congrats on winning, by the way, Lu-chan!" Levy exclaimed suddenly, remembering that no one had really gotten the chance to congratulate her before she passed out.

"Oh, yeah! That was awesome!" Natsu grinned. "Especially when you elbowed her to the face when she had you pinned down!"

"You took a beating," Gray pointed out, thinking hard about something, "but your bruises look worse than they should be."

Lucy looked down, her teeth catching her bottom lip as she narrowly avoided meeting the eyes of anyone in the room. "Yeah…"

"What happened out there?" Natsu asked suddenly.

"They cheated," she admitted, twiddling her thumbs.

"Cheated how?" It was Levy.

"Uh… Flare was wearing gloves," she began, finding her hands even more intriguing than before. Really, she had just planned to brush this whole thing off. "And there was something metal… in the gloves."

When she looked up, they all appeared more enraged than before. "I'm going to go beat that school to the ground," Natsu growled. "We need to show them who they messed with."

"They think they can get away with something like this?" Erza turned around, a dangerous fire alight in her eyes.

"I'm surprised you still managed to take her down after all those hits," Juvia marvelled, hooking her arm through Gray's. He shook her off and stepped away.

"Guys, calm down. I'm fine," Lucy assured. She really wasn't in the mood to get in trouble for the destruction of a fellow school.

"That's not _fine,_ Lucy!" Gray exploded, pointing to a bruise on her arm. She instinctively covered it with her hand, flinching away. "As much as I hate to admit it, Flame Brain is right. We can't let them get away with it."

"We won't," Levy spoke up, drawing the attention to herself. "Both of our teams are going to make it to the championship, guys. We always do. Let's show them what we're made of then. We can't go barging into their school."

"Like hell we can't!" Natsu bellowed.

"Natsu, _please_!" Lucy implored. Her voice seemed to extinguish his sudden burst of anger. "Levy's right. We have to wait. I don't want to let them get away with it, either, but we have to do this the _right_ way." Everyone quieted, looking at her with almost stunned expressions. "They cheated and they weren't caught. Even if we tell the referees, we have no proof. So let's wait." Another pause. She sighed, looking down. "Can we please just go to the club hall?"

They all acquiesced, gathering their belongings from the preparation rooms and heading out the door. _I'll get my car tomorrow,_ Lucy reminded herself, walking a little ways behind the group. It hurt to walk, let alone to try to walk _quickly_. Natsu looked back at her and slowed, falling into step with her, examining her. Then he grabbed her wrist, putting a halt to her movements.

"Are you okay?" he inquired. He could obviously tell she wasn't.

"I'm fine," she nodded, smiling at him. His hand lingered on her arm, but then he was crouching in front of her.

"C'mon, weirdo." He flashed a grin over his shoulder, and it was blatant that she had no room to reject his offer. So she wrapped her arms around his neck, silently thankful for the warmth he was radiating amidst the frigid winter night, and he lifted her onto his back, easily catching up to their friends.

They all chatted casually for awhile and when the club hall came into view, Lucy remembered something she forgot to ask about when she had woken up. "Oh! By the way, what happened in the six matches after mine?"

"Wendy won," Natsu smiled proudly, craning his neck in an attempt to look at her. Instead, his cheek nuzzled against hers, causing her face to flush a deep red. He didn't seem to notice. "Warren and Max lost. Lisanna, Freed, and Romeo all won, though. So we won!"

"That's good to hear," she murmured, resting her chin on her arm, allowing her head to rest against his.

She caught a glimpse of the knowing smile Levy sent her, at which she rolled her eyes. She and Natsu were just friends, and nothing more.

Gray pushed the door open, and, to Lucy's surprise, most of the club members were still wide awake, chatting, drinking, and even dancing the night away. "Lucy!" Wendy shouted, running to greet her and Natsu. It grabbed the attention of the entire club, and then there were shouts and laughter.

"You can put me down," she mumbled to Natsu, who nodded and released her so she could stand. "Thank you."

"No problem!" he beamed, giving her a thumbs up. She mimicked him, smile and all. "Oh, by the way - " The sentence was never completed, cut off by a chair smashing against his face. " _HEY_!" Lucy watched as he joined in on a fresh brawl, taking that as her sign to move out of the way and escape to the rather crowded bar.

A pearly white smile on her face, Mira was there to greet her. "You did really well today, Lucy! Good job!"

"Thanks," Lucy replied. "I mean, it was as expected, wasn't it? I'm clearly a great fighter!"

"Now you're just getting overconfident," Jet muttered from beside her, shaking his head.

"Well, she did save Natsu's butt out there!" Droy argued. "He would've been dead meat without her."

"Hey, I heard that!" came an all-too-familiar voice. "Come and fight me!"

They were pulled into the mayhem, eyes bugging out of their heads, and Lucy laughed.

Something about the Fairy Tail Fight Club felt so right, as if she was _meant_ to be a part of it. They really did seem like family, even after knowing them for only a short time.

The blonde turned around, leaning on the bar. "Hey, Mira, can I have a glass of water?"

"Sure!" In a few moments, the drink was presented to her, and Lucy greedily gulped the entire cup. "By the way, Lucy… you and Natsu seemed pretty cozy coming in here, huh?" The smile of an angel was replaced with the mischievous smirk of a demon.

"Oh, _c'mon_!"

* * *

 **A/N: Here's chapter six! This chapter was little more messy than I had intended, so my apologies for that.**

 **The next chapter is going to focus more on Lucy's past and a lot of the mystery behind Lucy Heartfilia, so I'm excited to write it! :)**

 **I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **Again, thank you to all who review, favorite, follow, or even just take the time to read my story! You're what keeps me going. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

" _Daddy, daddy!" The owner of the voice, a small girl with a golden crown of hair atop her head, came bumbling into the office of Jude Heartfilia. Her excitement radiated off of her in waves, shown clear on her face. "Look!"_

" _Lucy, I thought I told you to stay out of my office," he spoke officially, as if talking to a client rather than to his own daughter._

" _But… it's close to Christmas! So I thought I'd make you something!" Lucy, only ten, pushed, presenting the misshapen gingerbread man. It was decorated with all different sorts of candy and icing, made to look like a snowman. "The maids helped me make it extra special for you! I even-"_

 _The gingerbread man was knocked out of her hands mid-sentence, landing on the ground and losing a leg in the process. She stared with wide eyes up at her father, bottom lip quivering as she tried to hold in her tears. "Why don't you ever listen, girl? Go and play in the garden!"_

 _She turned heel and ran, stumbling over her dress as she let out a wail._

Lucy Heartfilia sipped a cup of hot chocolate, eyes locking on the door to her father's office as she passed it in the hallway. Her new home was not much different from the mansion she grew up in; sure, it didn't hold the same sentimental value and it was a little bit larger than her previous house, but all of the furniture was moved and even her room looked almost the same.

The one thing that mattered most to her was her bathroom. As long as it had a bathtub, all was well in her home. After downing the last of her drink, she ran herself a bath, relaxing as the steaming water undid all of the tense knots in her back. Bruises from her fight with Flare were still splattered across her skin, but already they were fading, the worst ones only a pale blue.

"I love snowdays," she sighed dreamily, eyes closing as she allowed the remainders of her anxiety to wash away, if only for a little while.

It was a Monday, which not only meant she was _supposed_ to have school, but also that she was supposed to go grocery shopping and stock up on food and other necessities for the week. The maids offered to do it for her every Saturday, but truth be told, she enjoyed strolling through the grocery stores aisles and picking out her own food, paying with her own card; it made her feel normal.

As reluctant as she was to venture out of the warm water and into the brisk air, she had been waiting to go shopping all week. She dried off, wrapping a fluffy white towel around her body to keep it at least the tiniest bit cozy while she looked for clothes. It was colder than cold, so for the day, she decided on a thick pair of black leggings, a light blue sweater, and brown boots, covered by her usual pink peacoat.

"C'mon, Plue! We're going to the store!" she called, whistling for her dog and smiling contently when he yipped. At that moment, her phone buzzed with a group text from Levy.

 _School is cancelled tomorrow and Wednesday._

The replies were from other clubs members, most of them hyped up about the idea of a five-day weekend, while Levy complained about how it would affect her testing schedule. She smiled.

Not before wrapping her neck with a black scarf, Lucy skipped into her garage, hurriedly starting her car and setting Plue into the passenger seat. With the press of a button her garage door was opening, and she noiselessly thanked whichever plow-truck decided to plow the snow from her driveway.

She drove down the driveway slowly, her stomach flipping when she closed the door behind her, gaze finding the spot where her father's car was usually parked. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened ever so slightly, eyes focusing on the road in front of her car.

" _Where are you going, Daddy?" ten-year-old Lucy questioned, standing by the door with her hands clasped before her. She had dressed properly, in her father's eyes: a pink dress that reached her ankles and a white pair of Mary-Jane's on her feet._

" _I have a business meeting. I won't be back for two weeks. The maids and butlers will watch you," he informed her. Those were the last words he said to her before disappearing out the door, not even sparing his daughter a backwards glance._

 _She scrambled towards the door, throwing it open to see his car already disappearing down the driveway. "B-But… tomorrow's Christmas!" The tiny blonde was sobbing again, unable to find any solace in the house workers' words of comfort._

Before she knew it, she was parking her car in the lot of the store, turning to give Plue a pretend-firm look and jabbing a finger at him. "Plue, you better stay right here and behave!" Then she ventured into the snowy whirlwind, hugging herself. Her thick garments did not provide enough protection to keep the frosty air from chilling her to the bone.

Suddenly she got an uncanny feeling, like she was being watched from afar, but the curtain of snow barely allowed her to see clearly more than twenty feet away from her. Instead of investigating, she turned tail and bustled into the store, happily welcoming the toasty air inside.

Lucy grabbed a cart and began walking up and down the aisles, occasionally grabbing an item that she deemed 'necessary' (and no matter how much a person could argue with her, Lucy was unrelenting on the fact that hot chocolate and marshmallows were necessities). Her cart was about halfway full when she crashed into someone who was speeding into the aisle, knocking them on their rear end.

"Sorry!" they spoke at the same time, and then recognized each other's voices.

"Gray?!"

"Lucy!" Again, they spoke at the same time.

Lucy offered her hand to help him stand, which he gratefully accepted. "Why are you in such a rush?" she questioned, taking her time as she continued meandering through the store. He ambled slowly next to her, hands deep in the pockets of his jacket.

"Erza mentioned something about coming to the store," he gasped, as if he had forgotten. "I was already here to get some ice, but I was trying to avoid-"

" _Gray_!" The familiar call of his name sent chills down both of their spines. Erza sounded rather angry, and that point was proved when a can of soup was chucked roughly at Gray's head. The redhead stormed up to them, and when her glare met Lucy's fearful stare, Lucy swore she saw her life flash before her eyes - but then Erza's look softened, replaced by an almost motherly smile. "Hello, Lucy. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty good, actually!" she chirped, relief flooding through her veins at Erza's sudden change in attitude. "What are you doing here?"

Gray twitched on the ground, drawing the girls' attention to him. Erza grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him to his feet while he remained in somewhat of a daze. "I came here to buy a cake."

"Are you celebrating something?" Lucy queried ecstatically.

"No," Erza stated, her fists on her hips. Lucy sweat-dropped. "I get a cake every day."

"Do you guys have any special plans for the next few days since school was cancelled?"

Erza shook her head and Gray seemed to snap back into reality, shrugging his shoulders. "No, not really," he admitted before smirking. "But if _you're_ free, I-"

"Gray, your pants," Lucy cut him off, pointing down his legs, where all her wore were his boxers.

"Wha-!" he shouted, hunching his shoulders in defeat as he picked his bottoms up from the ground.

"We three should all spend time together," Erza suggested, pulling both Lucy and Gray's heads to her chest in a tight hug. As much as the gesture was appreciated, Lucy felt like she was being strangled. "Natsu is free as well, so I will invite him. If you don't mind, I would like to see your house, Lucy, to ensure that it is a safe and nurturing environment for a teenage girl such as yourself."

Lucy's blood ran cold and she pushed away from Erza, walking backwards and stumbling over her own feet. "N-No! I mean, it's not that I don't want you at my house! It's just - I mean, my father! He's not a very big fan of guests and he works a long time every day, so I try to give him peace and quiet! It would work out a lot better if we could go somewhere else!" She was panicking inside and she knew that they could both tell.

"Very well," Erza spoke after a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. "We will meet at my house in three hours. Lucy, I will text you my address. For now, I must go buy a cake. I will be seeing you two later." Without waiting for so much as a farewell, Erza marched out of sight.

"Why was she mad at you?" Lucy asked curiously after a moment, eyeing Gray with amusement clear on her face.

"Ash-for-Brains told her I did something," he sighed, rubbing his head where a lump had formed.

"Did you do it?"

"Well, yeah, but…" he trailed off when he saw Lucy raise an eyebrow. Instead, he gestured to her cart. "Are you done? I'll help you carry your groceries."

"Such a gentleman," she mocked, pushing her cart lazily towards the checkout. "But yeah, I just need to pay." She began piling her items up on the counter, stopping only to take out her wallet and turn to Gray. "If you're in a gentlemanly mood, would you mind running over there and buying me a hot chocolate?" She offered a ten dollar bill, gesturing towards the small cafe near the entrance of the store. "You can get something if you want."

He agreed without complaint, disappearing across the store and then reappearing just as she finished paying. "Here you go," he huffed, handing her a styrofoam cup. In his other hand was a clear cup, filled with iced coffee.

 _Weird._ "Thanks," she smiled, walking towards the door. Both of them gathered grocery bags on their arms and in their hands and Lucy led him to her car, popping the trunk open and dropping her contents in. He did the same, backing up for a moment afterwards to study her car.

"Nice ride," he commented after a moment, his chest suddenly bare.

Lucy plucked his shirt off the ground and held it out to him, rolling her eyes. "It's below freezing out here. Keep your clothes on."

"I'm used to the cold," he stated nonchalantly, earning a scoff. "Well, I'll see you at Erza's, Lucy."

"Yeah, I'll definitely be there!" she beamed, watching him stride away until he was all the way down the street. Her shoulders sagged and her eyebrows furrowed, a disbelieving expression on her face. "He _walked_ here?"

With a heavy sigh, she reached up with her free hand, slamming her trunk closed and pulling her phone from her pocket. As promised, she noticed as she rounded the driver's side of the car, Erza texted her the address of her home, and a light smile graced her face.

It was there for only a brief second before a hand covered her mouth, pulling her backwards. Her grip on both her phone and her drink slackened, both items falling onto the snowy ground as she struggled against her captor. Her head shot back, crashing into whoever's nose, and she staggered forward, beelining for her car.

A glimmer of hope shined inside of her until something grabbed her ankle, tripping her and causing her to face-plant into the snow. Someone grabbed a handful of her hair and then a rag covered her mouth and nose, obscuring her ability to breathe. Soon enough, her vision became fuzzy, and she knew exactly what was happening. It had been attempted before.

As her senses became hazy all over again, she felt the cold singing her cheeks and fingertips, heard Plue barking desperately from inside of her car, but then the lights of the world turned off.

* * *

"How do you know she didn't just decide to skip because you were gonna be there, snowflake?" Natsu snapped, arm crossed and a pout set on his lips. He wasn't going to admit that he was freaking out inside.

"She told me she would _definitely_ come!" Gray retorted, his expression mirroring Natsu's as he looked in the opposite direction.

"Her phone is still here," Erza announced above the ferocious roar of the wind, turning around the face the two of them. At some point, the snow had stopped falling, but the forecast guaranteed that it would make a second appearance by the time night fell.

"You tracked her phone?" Gray interjected.

"I had a bad feeling."

Gray looked over her shoulder, spotting Lucy's car, still parked. Natsu followed his gaze and before anyone spoke, the pink-haired boy was darting through the snow, stopping when he made it to the driver's side of the car. The others caught up behind him, but he was already crouching down, hand grasping Lucy's cell phone and holding it up for proof.

Erza's eyes scanned the ground. "Look, in the snow," she instructed, forcing both of the boys to stare at the snow where she was pointing. "It looks strange, like someone was dragged."

"Lucy's in trouble," Natsu growled, ready to take off when he heard a bark. Plue scratched at the car window, and Natsu had no choice but to let him out. No one was expecting the dog to run immediately, as if with a purpose, but they didn't question it; it was the only lead they had on Lucy.

"Why would someone want to kidnap her?" Erza wondered aloud, sharing a glance with Gray.

"I don't know, but whoever touched her is gonna pay," Natsu snarled.

"If you think about it, we don't know anything about her," Gray pointed out. "Do either of you even know her last name? Or anything about her?"

No one spoke because they knew he was right.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm really on an update roll haha! The next chapter will probably be up by tomorrow afternoon! :)**

 **I hope you enjoyed this! This chapter and the next chapter/few chapters are going to be more centered on figuring out who Lucy really is, as I said before. There'll be more flashbacks like the ones in this chapter, and we'll get more glimpses of how her life was growing up! So stay tuned. ;)**

 **Also, thank you to everyone who reads/reviews/favorites/follows my story! You guys are the best. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

" _Hey there, little miss!"_

 _Lucy Heartfilia, age seven, stares at the trespasser, big brown eyes widening. Apprehensively she glanced around, but her heart dropped when she saw no one was around._

" _Why don't you come with me?" The man was tall and lanky, lacking any real muscle on his bones, but still he managed to be intimidating. His skin was oddly pale, contrasting with his dark blue eyes and jet black hair._

" _Daddy and Mommy said I can't talk to strangers!" she responded, turning her nose up at the man. Her stubby fingers wrapped around her doll, Michelle, and she prepared to run back to the house, but a large hand grasped the back of her clothes and lifted her off the ground. "Hey! You big meanie! Put me down!"_

" _Calm down or you're really gonna get it," the man spat, dropping his friendly facade. "You're coming with me."_

" _I'm gonna tell my mommy and daddy and then_ you're _gonna get it!" she proclaimed stubbornly, blowing raspberries at her attacker. "So you better put me down now!"_

" _Lucy?" It was her mother's voice. Layla was breathtakingly beautiful, but only fear was evident on her face as she absorbed the severity of the scene before her. Then she composed herself, smoothing her dress. "Put my little girl down."_

" _What are you gonna do about it?"_

" _Layla? What's wrong?" A masculine voice came from behind her._

" _Mommy! Daddy!" Lucy cried out, bottom lip jutting out and eyes filling with tears. She flailed in the man's grip, her small boot hitting the man square in the face hard enough for him to lose his hold on her. She fell to the ground, letting out an 'oof' before racing to her parents, hiccuping. "Mommy!" she wailed._

"Wakey, wakey, Miss Heartfilia!"

Lucy flinched back when she felt someone tapping on her forehead, only to find herself restrained by rope. Her captors had taken the precaution of tying her to a chair to ensure that she wouldn't be able to escape easily. She blinked a few times before she was able to focus, and she was met with an unpleasant sight.

The man leaning over her grinned wickedly. "Excellent!"

"It stinks in here," she said bluntly, glancing around the small room. It looked almost like a bedroom without furniture; it had lovely hardwood floors (at least, they would have been lovely if not for the dust and stains) and a large window on the far wall. Her attention returned to the kidnapper. "If you want me for ransom, good luck. _I_ can't even get a hold of my father." Every abduction attempt she had faced in the past had all been for the same reason: money. She didn't expect that one to be much different.

"I don't need money," he cackled, twirling his mustache. "I'm filthy rich. Your father's fortune is of little interest to me, Miss Lucy."

That came as a surprise to her and it was written plain as day on her face that she was not expecting him to say that. "Then what _do_ you want?"

"My name is Eugene Hakitsui. Your father ruined my business eight years ago. He bought it out from under me, and it's taken me eight years to build it back up. I want revenge," he scowled, grimacing at the memory before the sadistic smirk twisted on his face. His finger ran along her cheek before resting on her chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "My business was the last thing I had to remember my father by. You're the last thing Jude Heartfilia has to remember your mother by. And also… you have something of Layla's that I wish to obtain."

Lucy's anger flared, and she bit down on his finger. "Don't say my mother's name," she spat, fuming. "And I will _never_ , _ever_ give you anything that belonged to her!"

Her head shot to the side when his hand collided with her cheek, the sound of the smack reverberating off of the walls and echoing in her head. "I would watch yourself, little girl," he sneered. He roughly grabbed her ponytail, pulling her head back so that their eyes met. "I don't intend to keep you alive for long. I just want your mother's keys. And if you don't give them to me… your little club friends are going to pay the price. _Tonight_."

Eyes widening, she gulped. It would have been different, had he not threatened her friends, but she could feel fear coursing through her. She knew they were capable, being in a fight club and all, but he probably had a large enough supply of men and women to fight for him that her friends could grow weary.

A long silence dragged on between them, when suddenly, Lucy started squirming. "I have to pee," she muttered, her cheeks flushing a deep red.

"I'm not falling for that one," he scoffed.

"I'm _serious_! Just bring me a bucket or something!"

"Do you take me for an idiot?"

She wiggled around in her seat even more, doing her best to cross her legs. "I'm not kidding! Please! I don't wanna die with a full bladder."

"Fine! Try anything funny and you're dead," he snapped, exiting the room and locking the door behind him.

Lucy waited until she could hear his footsteps fading before putting her plan into action: she stood awkwardly on her two feet, tied to the chair around her torso, before ramming her back into the wall. Nothing happened. She tried again, and again, and again, and finally, the chair broke into several pieces, the ropes falling to the floor with it.

"What's that commotion?" Eugene shouted, bursting into the room with a bucket dangling from one of his hands. Lucy wasted no time, punching him in the gut and snatching the metal bucket from him when he doubled over. She swung her arm back, bringing it forward the knock the object into his head, rendering him entirely unconscious.

Her mind calculated how many guards would probably be lining the hallways, assuming about ten or more covered the distance from the room she was in to the front door. Her suspicions were proven correct when she heard the thunder of footsteps, the booming voices of men and women.

"The Heartfilia girl has taken the master down! Restrain her!"

"Some of who we think to be the girl's friends have taken on the guards posted outside the door."

Lucy perked up, mouth dropping open in surprise. Her friends were there? _Then I have no time to waste._ Her gaze flickered around the room, desperate for a weapon of some sort, but then the door burst open and a line of guards came marching through.

She found it hard to breathe for a second, so she stopped, a sudden idea coming to the front of her mind. _I've reached a new level of stupidity,_ she muttered in her head, sprinting away from the guards and towards the window. Her shoulder rammed into it first, and, to her surprise, the glass shattered into thousands of pieces, raining down upon her as she fell to the ground. Her eyes remained shut and she waited for the impact of her body meeting the ground - but she felt something else. Arms wrapped around her, interrupting her plummet to the ground for a brief second before both she and the person who caught her fell into the grass.

"Ouch," she groaned, rubbing her neck. Her legs were splayed across the chest of her saviour, who had grass stains all over his clothes. When his head lifted and the familiar pink-haired point shot her a grin and a thumbs up, she smiled, climbing off of him. "Thank you."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Erza beat him to it. "C'mon, you two!" Her hand hooked around Lucy's wrist, dragging her along, and Lucy could barely get a glance of the mansion behind her. The window she had jumped from had been three stories above ground, and she found herself feeling extra relieved that her friends had shown up.

None of the four teenagers stopped running until they made it to the club hall, shoving the door open with extreme force, panting heavily. Lucy's heart was going a million miles a minute and there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead, in spite of the freezing temperatures.

Gray turned to her, arms crossed. "Lucy, they called you 'the Heartfilia girl,'" he said slowly, quietly, testing the waters for a reaction. Not quietly enough.

"Heartfilia? As in that filthy rich guy who runs practically half of Fiore?" a deep voice shouted, rousing everyone's attention to her.

"Does that mean that Lucy's filthy rich too?"

"Lu-chan…?" an uncertain voice spoke. Lucy met the worried look that Levy was giving her head-on, and her mind flashed back to Eugene.

" _And if you don't give them to me… your little club friends are going to pay the price. Tonight."_

She could feel her lip quivering, tears brimming in her eyes. People were shouting questions, cracking jokes about how much wealth she must have, all having fun and enjoying themselves. With a shake of her head, she turned to face Gray, Erza, and Natsu, panic written all over her face.

"He's coming _here_!" she informed, anger clear in her voice. There was no definite reason behind her anger. Was it because Eugene threatened her friends? Because her problems were becoming the club's problems? Because no one in the club knew what was going to happen? "Eugene, the man who got to me - he said he's going to attack _tonight_."

"We can take him, no problem!" Natsu assured her, grinning and giving his signature thumbs up. For the first time, she didn't return it.

"You don't get it. He's practically _made_ of money. He can send as many men and women as it takes to break us down," she explained impatiently, clenching her fists. "This is my fault."

"Lucy," Natsu said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "No way is this your fault! It's that You-Jeans guy that messed with you's fault. Plus, I've been looking for a good fight for a while now."

She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't. Her heart felt like it was going to explode and she was drowning in trepidation, just wishing she could disappear.

They spent an hour preparing, blockading the back doorways and ensuring that they had the upperhand, and then the nocturnal curtain fell upon them. Everybody waited, five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and Lucy foolishly wished that maybe he had been bluffing. She was wrong. A high-pitched whistle perforated the quiet, and while most of her club members appeared confused, Lucy was horror-stricken.

The other members started mumbling to each other, but Lucy halted their conversations, standing in front of the group and warning, "Get down!" Following her commands, they fell to the floor, and she glanced around nervously. The explosion came from the ceiling, debris raining down upon them and all Lucy could do was look up. Someone tackled her to the ground, pushing her out of the way of a large beam, but the blast had temporarily caused her to lose hearing. Her head hurt.

" _Mama," a six-year-old Lucy Heartfilia began, climbing into the lap of Layla. Her mother began playing with the small child's hair, a warm smile gracing her beautiful face. "What's Daddy's job?"_

 _Layla looked taken aback for a moment before her calm returned. She began swaying, rocking Lucy back and forth. "Your papa does a lot of things. He's the big boss."_

" _The big boss of what?" Big brown eyes peered up at similar ones, curiosity evident in the way Lucy's mouth formed the shape of an 'o.'_

" _Well… let's see. He builds railroads. He produces a lot of food, and a lot of it goes to starving children. He helps build fun places, like amusement parks. He makes cars and planes and even weapons for the military so that they can keep our home safe," Layla listed, a faraway look on her face. "He owns a lot a things, too, so that's why you might see our name some places. Your papa's a good man, Lucy."_

"Lucy!"

Someone was shaking her. She stirred, eyes blinking slowly. It was hot and there was something warm on her forehead, trickling down the side of her face. Everything surrounding her was chaos, but she suddenly shifted into gear, snapping back into reality and grabbing the shoulders of the person trying to rouse her back to consciousness. _Natsu…_

There were a few flames scattered through the building and the club hall was in shambles, only parts of the foundation remaining. Her head was pounding, but she paid it no mind. Natsu had blood on his face, smudged together with dirt and ash, and she looked around, struggling in his grip.

Everybody seemed to be okay; a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that they couldn't handle. She felt so relieved, but only before she realized what happened.

"They're using his weapons against me," she gasped, standing to her feet too quickly. Natsu caught her before she could fall over, but she brushed him off, skating around the mess of a building and following everybody else outside. Erza stood at the front, glowering at the troops of men and women standing before her. The club was outnumbered and out-weaponed, but no one seemed to care.

" _Ah, there's Lucky Lucy!_ " a loud voice boomed from the speakers set atop a truck. Eugene. " _Now, come with me, and your friends will be spared._ "

Lucy stepped forward, next to Erza, chin held high in spite of the tears threatening to fall. Her lips parted and she prepared to speak, but the words she intended for Eugene never made it past her throat.

"We're not gonna give her to you, you bastard!" Gray shouted, pointing an accusing finger in the general direction of the truck. Juvia stood by his side, looking just as determined as he did.

 _Maybe it would be better…_

"You'll have to get past all of us!" Natsu added, a smirk on his lips despite the seriousness of the situation. He had followed Lucy outside and now he stood beside her, tall and proud.

 _...if I just went with him. Maybe… my friends… my family…_

"You'll have to _kill us_ first!" Erza yelled, followed by a chorus of support from everyone else.

Lucy's eyes widened, the tears finally spilling down her cheeks, but not a single sound left her. She was trembling, silent sobs wracking her body. There was a hand on her shoulder, and Lucy looked over to see Mirajane, smiling kindly at her. Even though her face was decorated by ash and soot, she still looked calmingly beautiful.

"I called the police, Lucy," Mira whispered steadily, her voice a soothing melody. "They said they'll be here as soon as possible with backup. You don't need to worry."

Nodding numbly, Lucy wiped her tears, her pulse finally slowing to a normal rate when Eugene spoke again. " _I want the keys, Miss Heartfilia_." Her heart skipped a beat, because she _finally_ figured out what keys he was talking about.

" _Lucy, darling, come here." Layla beckoned a nine-year-old Lucy Heartfilia to her bedside. Slowly, Lucy dragged herself across the room, climbing onto the mattress and curling up against her mother. "I have a present for you."_

" _Mama, I don't want any presents," she whispered, shaking her head. "I-I want you to stay with me."_

" _I'll always be with you, Lucy. I'll be in your heart," Layla reminded her, her voice hoarse. She was scarily thin, looking as fragile as glass. Her eyes still glowed, though, and she still gave Lucy the same smile she always did. "I won't be able to stay here for much longer, Lucy. So I want to give you something."_

 _Lucy watched as Layla pulled something from the other side of the bed, straining herself, wheezing, gasping for breath. She fell back onto her pillows, sucking in air rapidly for a moment, before she composed herself. Then she dangled something in Lucy's face. Keys. "Mama, what are these?"_

" _They're three keys of the zodiac. Aquarius, Cancer, and Taurus. We always talk about the zodiac, remember?" Layla chuckled, dropping the keyring into Lucy's small hands. "I need you to keep them safe for me. Don't tell anyone you have them."_

" _What do they unlock?" Lucy inquired, toying with the golden objects._

" _You'll figure it out," Layla promised, patting her daughter on the head. "When I'm gone, people will come to you. They will give you keys like these, and you have to promise me that you'll protect them, no matter what."_

" _I promise, Mama!" Lucy swore, nodding eagerly._

 _Layla laughed._

"I'm not letting you get your grubby hands on my keys!" she shouted, hand on her hip and the other pointing an accusatory finger at the truck. "You attacked my family! You attacked _Fairy Tail_ , and you're gonna pay!"

" _Very well, then._ " He sounded anything but amused, and she knew what that meant. " _Men, women, attack them. Destroy them all. Bring Lucy Heartfilia to me_."

Many of his soldiers carried no weapons, relying only on hand-to-hand combat, while others held grenade launchers, guns, and even tasers. They surged forward.

"Take out the ones with weapons first!" Erza ordered, giving the signal for everybody to charge, so they did. Her fierce eyes locked on the truck, and she pumped one fist into the air. "This is for Fairy Tail!"

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter eight is here! I'm lucky I got it finished before my plans for today. :)**

 **I know a lot of people include Phantom Lord as the antagonist in the first situation like this, but I liked the idea of Gajeel and Juvia already being part of Fairy Tail, so Eugene Hakitsui is just a random fictitious antagonist.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it! The next chapter should be out by tonight or tomorrow morning, if I keep writing at this rate, haha! :)**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads/favorites/follows/reviews! You guys rock! ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Natsu grabbed one of the enemies by the collar, tossing him into two others. He heard a buzzing behind him, the noise sounding like electric sparks, and he prepared for the worst - but instead of a taser, a back pressed against his. "You better watch yourself, Flame Brain," Gray smirked, throwing a quick and finishing punch to another attacker.

"I can take care of myself just fine, Glacier Head," Natsu shot back, although the look on his face mimicked Gray's. They knew that they were winning.

"Three and nine o'clock," Gray muttered, earning a nod from Natsu. They both shot to the sides, Gray kicking to his left and Natsu throwing another punch. "Not too bad."

"Hey, Gray, after this-" Natsu paused to kick a guard back. "-I wanna rematch with you!"

"You're on," Gray grinned, and they went their separate ways.

Across the battlefield, Erza had a hand to her arm where a bullet had grazed the skin, but she still fought alongside Mirajane and Cana, taking down many of the people who dared to attack them.

"How many are left?" Erza called out, glancing at her comrades with furrowed eyebrows.

"They just keep coming, damn it!" Cana responded, clearly irate as she punched one of them extra hard.

"Why aren't the police here yet?" Mira asked aloud to no one in particular, concern plastered on her face. They had been fighting for twenty minutes - it should not take the police longer than ten to arrive at the club hall.

Wendy was not too far from them, hanging back so that she could treat the wounded. A medical supply kit was opened next to her, the contents spilling out.

Levy wiped the blood on her face, grimacing as yet another woman tried to jump her. The bluenette was quicker, though, as she whipped around and hit the other off to the side with a plank of wood she had been using as her weapon. She stopped, hands on her knees, to catch her breath, although it caught in her throat instead of the way she intended when a shadow loomed over her. She was lifted by the back of her shirt by someone much taller than she, and no matter how much she struggled, it was impossible wiggle her way out of the clothing.

"Hey!" someone called, and suddenly the man who had been holding her was sliding across the ground, his hand replaced with someone else's. Gajeel smirked as he held her up by her shirt. "Geehee. Better watch yourself, shrimp."

"Put me down, you big lug!" she protested, arms flailing up and down as she tried to escape his hold. He chuckled, setting her on her feet and keeping an eye on her as he resumed his fighting.

Lucy had managed to get her hands on a taser and, shamelessly, she used it left and right, gradually decreasing the distance between Eugene's van and herself. Just a she began to pick up her pace, she fell, nearly smashing her face against the asphalt; a stray bullet had nicked the back of her calf, causing her to lose her balance and fall over. A pair of hands lifted her back to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Laxus asked nonchalantly, his hard glare focused on the battle around them.

"Y-Yeah, thanks," she nodded, swallowing.

" _Lucky Lucyyyy…!_ " Both of them turned their heads at the sound of Eugene and Lucy visibly tensed. " _You have thirty seconds to surrender yourself before we start launching grenades._ "

So the grenade launchers were his trump card.

Lucy looked around. Everyone had halted their brawls and it felt like they were all looking at her. She could hear her heart racing in her ears. _It doesn't matter how fiercely we fight,_ she thought, clenching her fists at her sides. _If he starts launching those grenades, we're done for. But…_ Her bangs fell in her face, casting a shadow over her eyes. "Fairy Tail doesn't give in."

No one heard her aside from Laxus, who raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in her demeanor. He didn't try to stop her as she began trekking towards the van; he only watched.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out, jogging to catch up to her, but Laxus caught the pink-haired boy by his scarf instead. "Laxus, let me go! She can't just give up! That's not what it means to be a part of our family!"

Lucy heard him. Her eyes met his and he felt miniscule under the glare of death that she sent him, but then her expression lightened a bit. "Rule number four," she shrugged apathetically, turning away from him and continuing on her path. He slumped in Laxus's hold, his fists clenching at his sides as he began to shake.

Soon enough, Lucy disappeared into the van, the doors closing behind her. Everything went silent.

Until Natsu lifted his head up, a truly cheerful grin on his face and bubbles of laughter escaping him.

"This brat is _laughing_?" Laxus said in disbelief.

" _I thought we were supposed to be training. Our match is tomorrow," Lucy huffed, hands on her hips as she scowled at Natsu. It was Thursday, the day before Lucy's first competition._

" _This is training!" he insisted, hanging upside-down from the monkey bars, his knees hooked around the metal. His face was alight with a smile, and he beckoned her up. "Come on!"_

 _She looked around dubiously before hunching her shoulders, a frown on her face. "Fine," she complied, pulling herself up. At first, she had trouble, but she managed to slip legs through the monkey bars and lock her knees around one so she could dangle in the same manner Natsu was. "Now what?" They were extremely close to one another; her face turned red, but she told herself that it was because of the blood rushing to her head._

" _Now, we're going to go over my rules for fighting!"_

 _Her eyebrow shot up, arms crossing over her chest. "Rules?"_

" _Yeah!" he nodded. "Rule number one: if you can stand, you can fight! Rule number two: if you don't know how strong your opponent is, let them hit you a few times. Then you can tell. Rule number three: even if you're not sure if you can win, talk like you are. Rule number four: your opponent might have a trump card. Surprise them too. Acting like you've given up and then attacking is really effective, trust me. Rule number five: defense is just as important as offense."_

 _Lucy was smiling slightly. "You've really thought about this, haven't you?"_

" _Yeah!" he nodded, teeth showing. "I have seven in all, but you only really need to know those ones."_

" _Attention, everyone! This is your captain speaking,_ " a feminine blared from the speakers, mocking. From inside the van, Lucy sat comfortably on the back of Eugene, legs crossed and the microphone held to her mouth. The driver and two other soldiers in the vehicle were unconscious. " _Eugene Hakitsui isn't available right now, so I'll be taking over for him. The police are gonna be here in a minute, so if you don't wanna be arrested, I think you should leave._ " A pause. Natsu could envision the slightly devilish smile on her lips she wore when she began to get overly-confident. He liked that smile. " _And this…_ _It's another victory for Fairy Tail!"_

The club members and their opponents stood in stunned silence for a moment. Police lights flashed and sirens wailed as the cops approached, and the soldiers working under Hakitsui began to scramble. Lucy opened the door of the van slowly, stepping out with her good leg and turning to look at her club members. At the sight of her, her friends began to cheer, erupting into excited yets and relieved laughter.

The night drawled on with the police asking questions and ambulances treating wounds. Lucy was questioned the most, since she had been the target of the operation, but when she stepped out, Makarov was staring sullenly at the remnants of the club hall.

"I'm so sorry, Makarov," she gulped, her lip quivering as she struggled to hold back her tears. Her gaze fell to her feet as she tried to reel back the sobs that threatened to escape. She hadn't had a good cry in a while. "This… This is all my fault."

"No, child," he said, turning to her with the lightest smile. "No one is to blame. We fought because you are our family. One person's happiness becomes everyone's happiness. One person's anger becomes everyone's anger. And one person's tears become everyone's tears. Don't cry. Everybody here cares so much about you and you should already know that. So hold your head high, because you are a proud member of our family."

Lucy lifted her chin, tears falling profusely from her cheeks as she struggled to keep her head up. They were all smiling at her. Levy laughed cheerfully, Erza gave that warm, motherly smile, Natsu grinned, giving her a thumbs up - and she let out a loud sob, no longer holding it back.

 _Do you see this, mom? I found where I belong._

* * *

"Miss Lucy." One of the house's maids, Annette, knocked on the door and peered into the room, giving an apologetic smile when she saw that Lucy was still dressed in nothing but a towel. With anybody else, Lucy would probably kick them out, but her maids were people whom with she was comfortable. It was unnatural for Annette, or any other worker, to be at the Heartfilia home on a Tuesday, but the staff rushed over as soon as they heard of Lucy's confrontation with Hakitsui. "Sorry to interrupt, but you have guests waiting outside the front door."

Lucy cringed away, terror and shock on her face, nearly dropping the keys in her hand. " _Guests_?!"

"They seem to be from your high school," Annette explained. She then pointed to Lucy's hand, which was held to her chest. "One of them bears the same mark you do."

The mistress of the house deflated, her shoulders slumping forward and an exasperated puff of air leaving her lips. "Tell them I'll be down in a minute," she sighed, turning away from the door.

Once Annette left, Lucy put her keys back into the hollowed out book she kept them in and allowed her towel to drop onto her carpet, stretching her arms high above her head. Feeling a pain in her leg, Lucy bent down, rubbing the bandages that wrapping around her calf. She couldn't believe the battle had only happened the night before.

"Sir, please! Miss Lucy has requested that you wait by the front door!" Annette's panicked voice reached her ears, and Lucy only had enough time to stand and face the door before it was thrown open.

"Ahaha, Lucy, you-" Natsu began, his muscles going rigid when he looked at her. Their faces simultaneously flushed and a moment of silence passed.

"Get out, you _pervert_!" she shrieked, covering her chest with her hands and kicking him as hard as she could out of her room. The door to her room slammed shut and she leaned against it, face still bright red. "I hate boys."

Deciding not to risk another naked showcase, she got dressed as quickly as she could in a plain t-shirt and dark red skirt, leaving her hair down for the first time in a long time. It had grown rather long.

When she descended the stairs into the foyer, she found Erza and Gray, gawking at the house around them. "I don't remember inviting you guys over," Lucy muttered, but her comment was overlooked.

"This place is beautiful…" Erza whispered in a daze, her eyes sparkling.

"Why aren't you guys with the rest of the club?" she tried again.

"Everybody is at home today since the club hall is being repaired," Gray explained, hands in his pockets, shirt suddenly missing. "Someone anonymously gave a huge donation to Makarov, so he's hiring workers to build the place even bigger and better than before." He gave her a knowing look, but she just whistled, looking around as if she didn't hear him.

"Hey… where'd Natsu-"

"Whoa-oa-oa!" the boy in question ran in, food piled into his arms. Happy was clinging to his shoulder for dear life, so Lucy took it upon herself to cradle the poor cat in her arms. "You really are filthy rich! Your pantry is like twice the size of my bedroom, and so is your kitchen! And you have _maids_!"

"Yeah," she nodded, rubbing the back of her neck. How was she supposed to respond? _Oh, yeah, but it's not a big deal to me, even if it is to you, haha!_

"Oh, Lucy, by the way, I would like to meet your father," Erza finally snapped out of her trance, meeting Lucy's gaze halfway.

"He won't be home for awhile," she admitted vaguely, rocking back on her heels.

"We can wait."

"Mr. Heartfilia won't be returning until the first of January, miss," Valerie, another worker, spoke as she entered the room.

"Then that means… he's not gonna be here for _Christmas_!" Natsu bellowed, suddenly angry. "He plans to leave his own daughter alone-"

"I have plans, Natsu," Lucy interjected, holding her hand up and sighing. Valerie and she shared a look, having a silent conversation, before Lucy smiled at her friends. "So… why _are_ you guys here?"

"We wanted to check out your place," Gray shrugged, examining a painting on the wall.

"And since your father isn't here to keep you company, I've decided that we will be spending the night," Erza announced, dropping a duffel bag at her feet. Lucy squeezed Happy tightly, the same terrified expression from earlier splaying across her face.

"You're _WHAT_?!"

* * *

 **A/N: I was in a rush for this chapter because to be honest, I just wanted to get it over with, so I apologize for the lack of quality.**

 **But yes! Christmas is nearing in the story and there are lots of questions to be answered! :) I promise there'll be a lot more NaLu moments in upcoming chapters, but to me, their relationship is always gonna be a slow-burn kind of thing, so that's what you guys are gonna get. ;)**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading! The next chapter will be up tomorrow, I promise. :) It'll be all about the sleepover + some other stuff.**

 **P.S.: I'm leaving for vacation on Sunday (August 9) and I won't be back until Friday. I _am_ bringing my laptop, but I'm not sure if I'll have access to WiFi, and even if I do, I won't have nearly as much time to write as I do now. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Please tell me I'm dreaming," Lucy begs, hands covering her eyes. The kitchen was a disaster, miscellaneous ingredients splattered over cabinets and spilled onto the floor. Natsu and Gray were sliding around on the oil they had spilled, while Erza was furiously stirring a bowl of cake batter.

"M-Miss Lucy," Annette stuck her head into the room, clearly experiencing an internal panic attack when she took in the state of the kitchen. "There's a phone call from your father waiting for you."

"Okay," she nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. Lucy only took one step before stopping, and Erza, Gray, and Natsu looked over at her. The trio jumped when her glare was set upon them, filled with rage and aggravation. " _YOU THREE ARE GUESTS IN_ MY _HOME! YOU CAN'T JUST COME IN AND WRECK IT LIKE YOU OWN IT! CLEAN THIS MESS UP RIGHT NOW!_ " They felt themselves shrinking with each word, Natsu and Gray clinging to each other in fear until she stormed out of the room.

"She might be scarier than Erza…" Natsu wheezed, earning a nod of agreement from Gray.

"You heard her, boys! Let's get cleaning!" Erza suggested with a mop in her hand, suddenly clad in a maid uniform.

In the other room, Lucy took a deep breath before picking up the house phone, looking down at her feet as she spoke. "Hello, Father."

" _Lucy_ ," he greeted coolly, and she could tell by his tone that he was not pleased about something or another.

"How's the business trip going?" she questioned, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

" _You know very well that I didn't call to talk about my trip._ " She could imagine his presence looming over her, and she felt that little girl with the broken gingerbread man all over again.

"I know." Her voice was quiet, almost timid, entirely unlike her usual self. Three keen sets of ears listened from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

" _I received word from one of my contacts in the area that there was a conflict you were involved in yesterday,_ " he began. Her blood ran cold. " _Eugene Hakitsui attempted to harm you, am I correct?_ "

"Yes, you're correct." She was speaking through clenched teeth.

" _Not only has this brought unwanted attention from the media, but it has darkened your reputation._ " He seemed impatient, as if speaking to his daughter was a bothersome waste of time. " _You got your friends and the public involved in something with which they had no business, and you acted in such an unladylike manner. It will be hard for me to find a suitable husband to secure your future now._ "

"It wasn't my fault!" she broke. "And I don't care about having a secure-"

" _Lucy._ " It was harsh and unforgiving, the way he spoke. " _You know very well that it was your inability to handle the situation properly that brought your friends into it, and now I'm being questioned about it."_ He stayed silent for a moment, letting her absorb the words. " _Maybe I ought to take you out of that public school. I heard about an all-girls academy, Mermaid Heel, only a town away from our home._ "

"No, _please_ don't," she blurted, composing herself before she continued. "I promise I won't let anything like the incident from yesterday happen again. It was my fault and I take full responsibility for it." _Please don't take me away._

" _Good. I have to go now. If I get any wind of anything happening again, I will be switching your schools immediately_ ," he warned before the line went dead.

"Understood." She was speaking to no one anymore. It took her a moment to set the phone back on it the dresser in front of her, but when she did, she braced herself against the piece of furniture, breathing deeply and trying to unravel the knots of tension in her back.

By the time she strode back into the kitchen, she was all smiles. Her friends knew better, but they relented from saying anything. "So, what do you guys want to do?" She might as well be a decent hostess.

"We should play _hide-and-seek_!" Natsu suggested, grinning at the idea as a child would.

"This house is pretty big so it'd be interesting," Gray pointed out casually.

Lucy sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, whatever - _but_ my dad's office and his bedroom are _off limits_. If I catch any one of you in either of those rooms, you will be _forced_ off and banned from the property. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." She sweat-dropped, crossing her arms.

"I will be the seeker!" Erza announced, back in her regular attire. "You have thirty seconds, starting now."

That was how Lucy ended up in a small closet tucked away in the back of the library, breathing raggedly. Her heart jumped when the door opened again, another person slipping inside and squeezing up against her. She held her breath.

"She'll never find us here, Happy," Natsu snickered, shuffling so that his back was pressed to the door. Her eyes were wide at the small distance between them, and it took all of her willpower not to push him away. She couldn't give up her hiding spot. "Huh, that's strange…" She almost sputtered when Natsu grabbed her elbows, patting the sides of her arms and moving upwards to her shoulders, until his hands landed on her _breasts_. "Lucy?!"

"Hands off, pervert!" she hissed, her fist connecting with his face. His hands fell to his side.

" _Ow!_ No wonder it's so cramped in here," he mused.

Both of them tensed up when they heard the door to the library open. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…!"

 _It sounds like a horror movie,_ Lucy thought numbly, hugging Happy-who had, at one point, ditched Natsu's shoulder for her warm embrace. Her eyes widened when Natsu pushed further into the closet, squishing both of his companions against the wall. Warmth flooded her face as Natsu's chest pressed against hers, and for the second time since she entered the closet, she lost the ability to breathe.

They stayed like that for over, enveloped in silence, until the footsteps in the library faded away. "I think Erza's gone," Natsu breathed, the sound of the library door closing reassuring both of them. He stepped back and Lucy gulped the air greedily, loosening her grip on Happy. She was surprised the blue feline hadn't suffocated like she had.

Suddenly, the door swung open. "Found you!"

Lucy and Natsu shrieked, Lucy letting out a sound that resembled " _kya!_ " before she kicked Natsu, literally, out of the closet.

* * *

Arms piled with blankets and pillows, Lucy entered her room, dropping everything and pointing to her bed - where, coincidentally, Natsu was sitting. "You guys sleep on the couch," she ordered, pointing a finger at Natsu and Gray. "And _you_ , uh-" Her voice faltered when she pointed at Erza.

"I don't mind sharing the bed with you," Erza sighed, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders and giving her a knowing smirk. "It means I can ensure that neither of these two boys try to sneak in."

"Thanks," Lucy said flatly, pressing her lips into a tight line. The sun was just beginning to set and she was running out of ideas to keep them preoccupied (and to prevent them from destroying anything else in her house). Then she did a double-take. All three of her friends already _were_ busying themselves with one thing or another: Natsu was sitting on her bed, playing with Plue and Happy; Gray was reading something, seeming rather interested; and Erza was on Lucy's laptop- "Hey! What are you doing on my computer?"

"Hey Erza!" a voice piped up.

 _Cana?_

"Where are you?" Levy spoke too.

"Natsu, Gray, and I are spending the night at Lucy's place," she informed indifferently, receiving a round of rustling and stomping feet from the other end. Lucy, too curious for her own good, sat next to Erza, leaning in to see what was going on. She was _video-chatting_ , and Lucy felt the urge to kick all of her friends out of her house. But she resisted.

"Hey, Lu-chan!" Levy smiled, waving at the camera.

"Natsu, Gray, and Erza are spending the night at your place?" Cana questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not fair! How come they get to enjoy all the rich people stuff?" Max butted his head in, scowling.

"Rich people stuff sounds pretty manly," Elfman pointed out, his face appearing as well.

"Where are _you_ guys?" Lucy attempted a change of subject.

"We're all hanging out at Cana's place until the rebuilding is done," Levy explained, shrugging her shoulders. "The snow is making the construction more difficult, but they said it should be done a few days before Christmas! They're working extra hard because of the pay!"

"So, Lucy-" Cana began, _that_ smirk lifting her lips.

"Sorry, we have to go!" Lucy interrupted, ending the call and slamming the laptop shut. With a huff, she turned, storming over to her desk and setting her laptop there. Gray was sitting in her chair, reading still. Her eyes widened in horror. "YOU CAN'T READ THAT, GRAY!"

He looked mildly offended when she snatched the stack of papers from her hands and held them protectively to her chest, red with embarrassment. "You have to let me finish!"

"No!"

"C'mon!"

"No!"

"At least tell me whether or not they make it out of-"

" _No!_ " She opened her drawer, neatly setting the works of her novel in there before slamming the cabinet shut. "Nobody touches it."

"So what do _you_ do around here all day?" Natsu asked suddenly, holding Happy up by his front paws.

Lucy glanced over at him, her anger melting into confusion. "Huh? Oh, I don't stay around the house much."

"Why not? This place is _huge_!" he jumped up eagerly, standing on her bed and accidentally flinging Happy and Plue across the room. Lucy caught them both, watching Natsu. "There's so much you could do!"

"I just don't," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. That was all the detail he was going to get. "We should watch a movie."

"I'll pick it out!" Natsu and Gray volunteered at the same time.

"Erza, you can choose," Lucy sighed. "The movies are in the bottom drawer."

Both of the boys simultaneously groaned, and Lucy realized why a few minutes later: Erza picked the least thrilling, most cheesy-romantic film in Lucy's entire collection, and even Lucy found herself bored within the first few scenes. She could tolerate it, though, because Erza looked absolutely enraptured in the plot, leaning forward from her seat with wide eyes and a pleased look on her face.

Lucy sat on the bed next to Natsu, pulling her phone out and playing mindless games on the device. It felt like hours before she felt pressure on her shoulder. When she looked over, Natsu was asleep, lacking the usual snore that adorns his unconscious state, with Happy curled in his lap with a content purr. _He actually… looks kind of cute._

An adoring smile lifted her lips for a second before her eyes widened. _What am I thinking? No, he's not cute. He's annoying._

She looked around for some sort of help, but Gray had fallen prey to exhaustion at her desk and Erza was too dedicated to watching the movie to notice Lucy's silent plea. So, with no other choice, Lucy turned her head away and pushed him off her, eyes clenching shut, waiting for…

 _Nothing?!_ Having been expecting a shout of protest, she was prepared to kick him out of her bed, but he had just fallen over the other way, still practically comatose with drool now trailing down his chin. _Yuck._ Her nose crinkled in distaste, but she inwardly sighed, leaning in the opposite direction and hugging her pillow. _He must be exhausted. They're all probably tired, after what happened yesterday. These three came to save me at Hakitsui's, too… I owe it to them._

With that said, she buried her face in her pillow and drifted into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Lucy let out a small sound of protest when she awoke, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. She pressed closer to the thing radiating warmth next to her, about to start dozing off again when it hit her. _Warm?_ Her eyes opened, squinting against the light from the window above her bed, but that was not her focus. It was the chest with which she came face-to-face (or, rather, face-to- _torso_ ), and the feeling of an arm draped casually over her waist. Happy and Plue were wedged in between Natsu and herself, at least keeping some distance. Not that it mattered to her.

" _Kya!_ " she shouted, struggling to back away from him and, in spite of how much she flailed to keep herself on the bed, falling on the floor with a loud _THUD!_ Her head popped up moments later, her hair disheveled and eyes blinking rapidly, and she realized that everyone was still asleep. _Man, they're heavy sleepers._

Instead of shaking them awake, Lucy tiptoed to her vanity, grabbing her brush and dragging it through tangled locks. In the end, though, she gave up, putting her hair into low pigtails instead. The others still slept.

By the time they _did_ rise and stumble into the kitchen, Lucy had breakfast prepared, pancakes and bacon and eggs all set out across the kitchen island. "Good morning," she greeted cheerily, opening the refrigerator and grabbing the carton of orange juice. The only response she got was silence, and she turned around to see her three friends staring at her as if she had grown another head. "What?"

They knew she wasn't a morning person, nor the type to willingly make a big breakfast for _one_ person, let alone three. "What's up with you?" Natsu asked, suspicious of her upbeat behavior.

She set the carton down on the counter, turning to face them before dropping her gaze to the floor. "I never said thank you," she blurted. "You guys put yourselves at risk for my sake the other day, so… thank you." Finally, her head rose and she gave them a full grin.

All at once they seemed to understand, and then Natsu mimicked her expression, "No problem, Lucy!" before proceeding to dig in. Erza and Gray followed suit. "You should invite us over more often!"

 _I didn't invite you over._ The thought never passed her lips. Instead, she laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow! Tenth chapter already! :) Thank you guys for motivating me to get this far, haha!**

 **Anyways, Christmas will be nearing in the next few chapters! :)**

 **I _am_ going on vacation tomorrow, so I won't have a lot of time to write, but I do have the next three or four chapters planned out, so over the course of my vacation I should be able to manage one or two chapters. Bear with me, please!**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads/reviews/favorites/follows this story! You guys are awesome!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Good morning, Lu-chan!"

Levy was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy Friday - the cloudy day referring to Lucy's ill mood. Not only had she snoozed through her alarm after a restless night of sleep, but she and her car had a disagreement before it decided to allow her to drive. So there she stood, huffing, blinded by both anger and fatigue. "Nothing is good about this morning," Lucy grumbled, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"Oh, Lu, what are you doing this weekend?" Levy asked, tailing behind the blonde as she made her way to her locker.

"I'm not sure…" she paused, looking at the ceiling and stopping as she thought about it. She felt Levy collide with her back and turned around to apologize, but froze when she spotted the devious smirk on the blue-haired girl's face.

"Oh, I can ask to hang out another time if you're gonna have another sleepover with Natsu," she hummed casually.

Lucy's cheeks immediately turned pink, and she stomped her foot, turning around to open her locker, clearly flustered. "You _know_ it's not like that," she whined, pulling out her books for her first class. "I still can't believe Erza posted that picture…" As it had turned out, when the three musketeers had spent the night at her house the previous week, Erza had snapped a picture of Natsu and her cuddling in their sleep, and proceeded to post it on _Instagram_ for every club member to see. She cringed at the thought.

"But really, they opened a new bookstore on the other side of town and I thought of you!" Levy grinned, catching Lucy's attention. "I'm gonna apply for a job there, and you should too!"

Lucy slammed her locker shut, turning around with a look of wonder on her face. "A job? At a _bookstore_?" For the few years leading up to the present, Lucy's father had told her not to worry about a mediocre job like the other girls at school had - rather, he wanted her to focus on learning the ropes of the Heartfilia business while keeping on the lookout for a wealthy and secure suitor. Still, it might have been influenced mostly the idea of rebelling against the orders given by her father, but Lucy wanted that job. "Yeah, okay! I'll pick you up!"

"Is noon okay? We can go apply and then hang out until the match tomorrow," Levy suggested.

Lucy nodded. The match had been postponed until Saturday due to a school event involving the debate team, and Lucy had realized that Fairy Tail High supported all of its clubs nearly as much as they supported the fight club. _Nearly_.

"Yeah, that's perfect," Lucy nodded, walking towards their classroom. "I'm going Christmas shopping with Natsu after school today but I have no idea what to get anyone."

"Don't put too much thought into it," Levy shrugged as they sat down. "I mean, you already bought us a bigger and better HQ."

It was a silent agreement among the club members not to mention that they all knew the generous donation had been from the Heartfilia heiress; an agreement that Levy had shattered into billions of tiny pieces. Though, when Levy said it so casually, Lucy didn't seem to mind too much.

"I just want to get everyone something special since I won't be there," Lucy sighed, pouting.

"Oh yeah, why aren't you celebrating with us, Lu-chan?" Levy glanced at her curiously, befuddlement masking her doubt. It was strange, because even though Lucy had only been in the club for a few weeks, she had already integrated into their family - so her missing out on one of the biggest celebrations of the year was bizarre.

"Family stuff," Lucy grimaced, combing her fingers through her hair.

The conversation ended there.

For the first time in a while, Lucy was centering all of her attention on the math lesson being taught to her. She took lengthy notes and was actually understanding the lesson until -

 _Buzz-buzz._

After almost jumping at the feeling of her phone vibrating in her pocket, Lucy slid the device into her lap, glancing at the text from Natsu.

 _I'm bored._

Her eye twitched and she shook her head, glancing around before furiously typing a reply.

 _That's your problem! Don't text me. I'm trying to learn._

She huffed angrily, although a small fraction of her mind wondered why she was so bothered. As soon as she started to believe he wouldn't text her again, she was proven wrong.

 _That's boring._

 _Well it's not my job to entertain you._

 _What class are you in?_

 _None of your business! :-(_

 _You're in math with Wakaba, right?_

 _No!_ That was a lie, but the ideas flooding her mind as to why he would ask sent her stomach on a roller coaster ride.

 _Yes you are._

 _Leave me alone._

 _Lucyyyyyy._

 _If you stop texting me, I'll buy you all the food you want after school._

Apparently that was enough to convince him, because she didn't hear from him until her science class. Coincidentally, she shared that class with not only Natsu, but Gray, Erza, Levy, and Gajeel as well (Gajeel was a year older than all of them, but he had started school a year later than he was supposed to).

"Okay, kids," the teacher, Mr. Conbolt, began, silencing most of the class. Natsu and her other friends called him 'Macao' because they were familiar with him-and he was Romeo's father. "Today we're going to begin partner work."

A chorus of shouts erupted, people claiming each other as their partner before he could finish. Lucy put her head down on the desk; she could work with anybody, so it didn't matter to her.

"I've assigned the partners." The room went dead silent and Lucy could only imagine the looks of horror masking everyone's faces. "Once you know your partner, sit with them. Then I'll start outlining the details of what you have to do."

Lucy closed her eyes, relaxing, focusing on the thrumming of her heart and the steady flow of her breath. She was tired.

"Okay, first up, Natsu will be partnered with Gajeel-"

"NO WAY IN HELL!" The cousins stood at once, glaring at the teacher.

"Sit down, boys!" Erza demanded, and when they didn't comply, she kicked both of them forward so they landed a tangled mess in the front of the classroom. "Please continue, Macao."

"Thank you, Erza," he nodded, looking at the paper again. The fight club members utilizing their skills in class was nothing new, and the teachers were pretty lenient about it due to their fondness of the students. "Levy and Erza." He paused, watching as the redhead moved to sit next to her partner. "Lucy and Gray."

Natsu was on his feet, pointing a finger accusingly at Gray. "How come ice-for-brains gets to be partnered with Lucy while I'm stuck with metal-face over here?"

She heard the chair scoot out next to her, followed by a "Hey, partner."

Lucy turned to smile at him, but instead she frowned and shook her head. "Gray, your clothes," she sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she turned to face the front again.

Natsu sulked about the pairings for the duration of the class, but when Lucy finally met up with him after school, he was all smiles.

"Ready to go?" Lucy questioned, buttoning up her jacket and slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"I'm fired up!" he exclaimed. He was going to hold her to her promise of free food.

* * *

"Natsu, what do you want for Christmas?"

He looked over at Lucy with bags hanging from her arms, clearly not having expected the question. Most people usually got him random things: his favorite foods, movie collections, cheesy little gifts that caught their eye in the store. Watching her then, though, with her rosy cheeks and bright eyes, holding her cup of hot chocolate close to her face with gloved hands and allowing her mouth to twist into a warm smile, he realized that she wasn't 'most people.' She was _weird_. She was Lucy.

"I want a dragon!" he exclaimed, earning a laugh from her. "And a lot of food!" Dark eyes zoned in on her after a moment, the overbearing enthusiasm quickly replaced with bubbling curiosity. "What do _you_ want?"

"I don't need anything," she shrugged honestly, her cheeks hot. "I can't think of anything better than being a part of the club."

"You're gonna love the Christmas celebration!" he began talking excitedly. "We spend the night on Christmas Eve and then the first person to wake up wakes everyone else up! It's usually Lisanna or me, but I let Lisanna do it because Erza is even scarier when you wake her up." He shuddered, as if remembering a past experience he wished to forget, and Lucy could only imagine the torture he must have been put through. "And then we all open presents and-" He caught the way the glimmer in her eyes dulled and the way her delighted grin turned into a sad smile and he stopped talking. "What's wrong?"

"I won't be spending Christmas with you guys," she admitted, tugging at her coat collar. Even in the snow, she had suddenly become hot.

"Why not?!"

"Family business," she mumbled, looking down. He resembled like a kicked puppy and it just made her feel even worse. She didn't know why she didn't just cave in and celebrate with the club, but something was holding her back. _Someone_. "I'm sorry, Natsu."

"Alright," he nodded doubtfully. Something was off about her, about the vague excuse she used, but he wasn't going to push. Not now, anyways. "I'm hungry! Let's go!"

He grabbed her free hand, pulling her through the crowd. She stumbled closely behind him, keeping a tight hold on her purchases and her drink-though she nearly spilled it on herself when Natsu came to a sudden stop in front of her.

"Hey, warn me next time you stop like that!" she protested, sobering up when she received no response. "Natsu...?"

But she didn't catch what made him stop, because he turned to her with a grin and squeezed her hand. "C'mon!" He was tugging her along again, though she trusted him to lead her while she searched the crowd for the source of uneasiness he clearly felt. For a brief second, her eyes met with the glare of a dark-haired man, but he disappeared after a passerby obstructed her view. Natsu was talking to her- "After Winter Break, we're gonna have another two-on-two and I think we should be partners again!"

Lucy peered up at him, suppressing all thoughts of the strange man. "Why don't you wanna be partners with someone stronger and more experienced? Tomorrow is only going to be my second fight."

He suddenly stopped again, but this time he turned around a gave her a toothy grin, his eyes squinting and his hand forming a thumbs up. "Because we're a team!"

Mouth opening into an 'o' shape, she let his words sink in, before she nodded. "Yeah!" Then she was walking ahead of him, beckoning for him to trail behind her. "Let's get some food."

Once they were settled comfortably at their table, Lucy fulfilled her promise and allowed Natsu to order whatever he wanted to. "Oh, the next big competition coming up has more than the two-on-two tournaments!" Natsu said, as if remembering something. "There's an event for a team of five. Erza wants us and Gray but she hasn't picked out a fifth member yet."

"I want Wendy," Lucy stated without even thinking.

"Tell that to Erza." A shrug.

"Oh, can you tell me about the championship?" She had forgotten to ask about it when it was mentioned before.

"It's a team of five competition too," he began, pausing to take a large bite of steak - then he proceeded to talk with his mouth full. Lucy sighed. "There's one-on-one and two-on-two matches, but they also have weird challenges that aren't just fights. Last year they made us fight with our hands tied behind our backs. The final event is one big fight between all the teams."

Lucy nodded slowly in understanding, chin resting in her hands as she thought about it. "The competition we're partnering up for… who is it against?"

He grimaced. "Grimoire Heart," he muttered, shaking his head. "They're… tough."

 _A lot of these other clubs have bad reputations, huh?_ She smiled. "It's okay! We're definitely going to win! As long as you have my back and I have yours, there's no way we could lose!" She mimicked his words from the beginning of the month with a wink.

The rest of their dinner was filled with idle chit-chat, though Lucy almost had a heart attack when Happy slinked around her feet (and it was then she realized to where the fish had been disappearing), and before she knew it, she and Natsu were approaching her house, the tall structure standing proudly in the distance. Somewhere along the way, she had convinced Natsu to carry the majority of her bags (even though Lucy insisted it was no more than half) while she had one bag in each hand and Happy sitting contently upon her shoulder.

"Hey, Lucy," the pink-haired boy spoke suddenly, drawing her attention away from the way her brown boots sunk into the white blanket covering the ground. "I know you said you have plans, but you should stop by the club hall on Christmas."

Lucy traded Happy for the rest of her bags, suddenly feeling small with all of her purchases hanging from her arms. Natsu looked hopeful, expectant almost, his usually spiky hair dampened by the snow and hanging in his face, tiny tufts of white decorating his jacket and the blue cat in his arms, and she knew that she couldn't deny him in person. "I'll try my best," she answered with the same amount of enthusiasm he would have projected, had he been in her position, but she knew it was more than likely that her club mates would have to spend Christmas lacking the presence of a certain blonde.

He believed her promising words, and then they were bidding each other a farewell, but Lucy didn't go inside until Natsu was out of sight. When she felt it was right to enter her house, she pushed through the front door, waving off the offered assistance from her maids as she fumbled to bring all of her bags to her room. The blonde dropped her bags, tripped out of her boots, and fell into the seat at her desk, opening her laptop and biting her lip.

"Even if I won't be there in person, I'll be there in spirit."

* * *

The crowd seemed even more riled up than usual.

After the bookstore interview with Levy - which, in Lucy's opinion, went swimmingly for both of the high school students - the two friends spent some time at the mall. Not only did they bond a lot more, but they shopped a lot as well. Levy picked out piles upon piles of clothes for herself and Lucy, though, admittedly, Lucy's favorite part was when they bought new clothes for fight club competitions. They spent much time in the fitting rooms, only keeping the ones that they liked the most, but both of them still left the store with a fair amount of bags added to their already colossal collection of new clothes. Currently, Lucy sported a bright pink sports bra that was snug in all the right places and a pair of black shorts that molded perfectly to make movement easy (and made her look _good_ ). To top it off, her hair was pulled into two low pigtails, tied with ribbons that match the pink she was wearing.

"Hey there, Lucy!" Before she could even respond, Natsu had his arm slung over her shoulders, nearly causing her to spit out her mouthful of water. Instead, she was left sputtering. "Levy, hey!"

"Hi, Natsu," Lucy said flatly.

Levy sweat-dropped. "Hey, Natsu! Ready for your fight?"

"You bet!" he exclaimed, punching the air with his free hand. Levy noticed he was shirtless. "I'm all fired up! Those Lamia Scale punks are going down."

"How's the competition looking?" Lucy questioned, shrugging Natsu's arm off of her. While hanging out, Levy babbled about many of the other schools; Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus were sister schools of Fairy Tail, so although the air was tense during any sort of competition, the three student bodies were actually very close - as well as the three principals. They were all pretty much equal in skill when it came to fighting, so it was bound to be a arduous fight for Lucy especially.

"Tough." As if voicing Lucy's thoughts. Levy tapped her chin. "I didn't see everybody who was competing tonight, though."

"Oh, I checked the board earlier to see who I was up against! Lyon and Gray are fighting each other!" Natsu snickered, as if it were some inside joke - which Lucy assumed it was, because she knew nothing of this Lyon figure. Natsu took notice. "Lyon and Gray trained under the same teacher together and they've never been able to beat one another."

"Oh," Lucy nodded. It must be frustrating on both of them.

"I'm fighting that weird guy, Toby, and Erza is versing the guy with the big eyebrows - and Lucy's up first against Sherry!" Natsu listed, as if those were the only important ones. Lucy raised her eyebrows, though, imploring him to tell her who else was fighting. "Er, uh… Wendy is against Chelia, Sherry's cousin, I think, and Levy, you're fighting Jura-" Natsu cringed at the name and Levy visibly paled. "-and uh… Laxus is… I don't know."

Another thing Lucy had learned from Levy was that no matter how many club members enjoyed fighting, not all of them enjoyed fighting in the competitions. While Natsu, Gray, and Erza participated every week, some members, such as Reedus (who was _much_ more invested in the arts), only fought in a competition once a year - _at most._

They didn't join for the fighting. They joined for the familial connections, kind of like Lucy.

Her thoughts dispersed when she took her place on the mat, posture straight and eyes locked on her opponent. Sherry was not someone you would expect by appearance to be in a fight club (then again, neither was Lucy); she was very pretty and held herself confidently, long pink hair brought together in a ponytail atop her head and her blue eyes boring into Lucy's.

Once the referee gave the girls the signal to begin, Lucy's guard maximized ten-fold. She was wary of the other, especially when she started spouting off nonsense about _love_. Deciding that it was best to attack first, Lucy rushed forward, swiping her foot through the air and into Sherry's chin.

Holding her throbbing face, Sherry scowled at Lucy, appearing rather offended. "That is _so_ not love."

"It's not supposed to be!" Lucy retorted. They were supposed to be _fighting_. The blonde was preparing to voice such a thought when Sherry's fist flew towards her without warning, connecting with her ribs and knocking her clear onto her backside.

" _Ow_ ," Lucy whined, standing up and rubbing where she had landed. Her eyes widened as Sherry lashed out again, wickedly quick, but Lucy managed to duck just in time to avoid the vicious kick sent towards her. A shriek emitted from her throat when Sherry pulled her forward by her sports bra, nearly showcasing her breasts to the entire crowd, and Lucy's arms crossed protectively over her chest, her foot rearing back before digging itself into Sherry's stomach.

Lucy stood there, horror masking her face as she watched Sherry on the ground, still hugging herself as if to conceal her chest. Sherry leapt from the ground, tackling Lucy to the floor, attempting to pin the girl's arms down - but Lucy was faster. She flipped them over with her foot, straddling Sherry and pinning her arms above her head. The crowd was silent, leaning forward in anticipation as the ten-second countdown commenced.

Then someone from the stands had the nerve to _whistle_.

Both competitors' heads swiveled to the side, eyes sharp and easily locating the junior boy who let out the high-pitched sound. He shrank back, not only under their stares, but under the ferocious glares of many of their teammates and even some of the other students.

Sherry took the opportunity to lean up and headbutt Lucy, throwing her to the side and sitting up, rubbing her own forehead. Lucy grimaced, rubbing her head and glancing around. She saw the crowd of Fairy Tail students, all avidly watching, and she saw the other club members, eyes on her.

Everyone was watching her.

 _There's no way I can lose now._

Sherry had already risen, taking slow, threatening steps towards Lucy, her foot lurching forward, intending to find a home in Lucy's face. However, to Sherry's surprise, Lucy wrapped her hands around the other's ankle, preventing the kick from hitting her - and then she was pulling the foot towards her, Sherry's back hitting the ground and Lucy on top of her once again.

This time, nothing distracted her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sooo clearly I'm finally back from vacation! Sorry for not updating while I was there, but I had no time whatsoever on my laptop! Anyways, it was fun, I talked to some nice people, swam a lot, and got turned into a lobster by the sun. :)**

 **Here's the eleventh chapter! It's extra long to make up for the lack of updates for a week, and the next chapter should be up later tonight or tomorrow! :)**

 **Lots more NaLu in the next few chapters. ;) Then again, like I said, _slow-burn_.**

 **By the way, school will be starting soon for me (cue horrified screaming). It means I will have less time to write, a _lot_ less time, and since school has the tendency to put me in a rather sour mood, I might not update as often as I like. Bear with me?**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Keeps your eyes open for the next one. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Gray was fuming as he walked off the mat, the match called as a draw when he and Lyon exceeded the time limit. Lucy sympathized with him but relented from speaking when he stood next to her; it would be better to allow him to cool down on his own time.

Fairy Tail was on a roll. Natsu defeated Toby in a matter of seconds, only after the laughing fit when Toby said something Lucy did not hear, and Erza wasted no time knocking Yuka to the ground (Lucy had learned that Natsu was not exaggerating when he talked about Yuka's big eyebrows - they were _absurd_ ), but then Wendy fought Chelia.

At first, it seemed like Wendy had to upperhand, easily hitting Chelia down with a punch right to the head. When it appeared that Chelia would not get up, the referee began to blow his whistle, but then the pink-haired girl popped off of the ground, assuring the ref that she was far from done. Wendy looked appalled. Blow after blow, Wendy and Chelia were beating each other up, both very quick and agile in their movements; it was almost hard to follow what was going on.

Then the timer went off, alerting everybody that the match was a draw. Both freshmen girls dragged themselves to the sidelines, laughing and chatting like old friends (Lucy assumed they were; they acted like they knew each other). Lucy watched them with a small smile. It was strange that some people were able to get along after brutally attacking each other, but she wasn't surprised that Wendy was one of those people.

The next match was Levy's match, and Lucy understood why both Levy and Natsu blanched at the mention of Jura. He was a bulky senior, all muscle, as if chiseled from stone. His impressive height towered over Levy's and Lucy swore she could feel her own heart leap to her throat; she wondered how Levy was feeling.

She wondered until Levy kicked first, effectively knocking Jura to the side and eliciting a gasp from the audience. Maybe she had a chance.

"Poor Levy," Erza sighed from her right, shaking her head pitifully. Noticing how Lucy's eyes bugged out of her head, Erza felt the need to continue. "I have faith in Levy's abilities, but Jura is a very respectable fighter. No one has been able to defeat him since he joined the Lamia Scale Fight Club. He always lets his opponents get in the first strike, though, and he doesn't typically use his full strength to fight."

Lucy gulped, turning her attention back to the mat to see Jura knocking Levy down as easily as if she were a small child. Levy was already shining with perspiration whereas Jura hadn't even broken a sweat - but the blue-haired girl was stubborn enough to continue fighting.

It was futile. By the next minute, Levy was pinned to the ground, her arm twisted behind her back as Jura held her down.

Commence the walk of shame. Levy groaned as she approached Lucy, her head hanging low, though Lucy was aware that Levy knew Jura was a very formidable opponent.

"Nice job, Levy," Erza commented, in spite of her loss. It was nice work; Levy moved very quickly and her attacks were right on target. Had it not been for the wall of muscle that was Jura Neekis's body, she might have been able to defeat him.

The fights continued on and eventually, Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail tied.

Lucy flinched when she saw the glower on Gray's face, and she shuffled closer to Erza when she saw that Lyon was returning it. _Man, they're angry._

* * *

"Lucy?" Wendy asked, sitting next to her at the bar.

It was Monday, the nineteenth of December. The first weekday of Winter Break. The schools in the area had no school for two full weeks, and Lucy planned to spend as much time as possible with her friends at the club hall.

"Hey, Wendy," Lucy greeted with a small smile, looking up from the papers she had been sifting through. She had been sitting in the corner of the club hall since she was able to catch a break from decorating, working on papers from her father - all educating her about the _business_ world. "What's up?"

"Why did you want me on your team of five with Erza?" The question was blurted out, as if Wendy needed to put the words in the air before she couldn't, and then the bluenette's cheeks were burning furiously. "I mean, not that I don't wanna be-heheh...! It's just… Erza told me that you were the one who picked me. Why didn't you want Levy, or Cana, or... or Gajeel?"

Lucy had spoken to Erza over the weekend (when she had, once again, appeared at her home with two certain boys without invitation) about the game plan - and more specifically, about Wendy. Erza agreed graciously, nodding in approval. The redhead approached Wendy the next day and Wendy was clearly elated to be ask to be on their team (and though Romeo was a bit jealous when Wendy informed him, he was happy for her).

"I can't give you a straight answer," Lucy admitted, looking down at the papers in front of her. "It's just a feeling I had. I guess… I like the way you think. And you _are_ a good fighter, too, even though people might not expect you to be. I think you and I would make a good team, really-a great team!"

Wendy clung to every word, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "Thanks!" she exclaimed suddenly, a brilliant grin taking over her face.

Assuming that was all she wanted to speak about, Lucy began scribbling down on her work again, but stopped when she felt Wendy still sitting next to her. "Did you need something else?" she questioned, glancing over at her with a concerned expression.

Wendy was fidgeting in her seat, red-faced and unable to meet Lucy's eyes. "Yeah… I, uh, I have this friend… who I _really_ like…" It looked painful for her to say. "I want to give h- _them_ something special for Christmas… but I need your help! I don't know what to give them!"

 _Wendy has a crush?!_ Lucy beamed just thinking about it, leaning in to keep her voice as low as Wendy's. "Well, what kind of stuff does this _friend_ like?"

"Um…" More fidgeting. "They like to sing… and dance… They really like music..."

Lucy giggled quietly. "Well…" She thought about it for a moment. She was stumped. "Give them something from the heart because that means a lot, in my opinion." Another pause. "Maybe… write them a song?"

Okay, judging by the horrified expression that took over Wendy's face, she assumed that a song was the wrong route to take.

Then, "Wait, I got it! Thanks, Lucy-san!" Wendy was scrambling off, excitement clear as crystal.

"Young love," Lucy sighed dreamily, chin resting in her hands and a smile overtaking her face.

At some point, Natsu had wandered over. "You're only a few years older than her."

" _Shut up!_ "

* * *

Natsu sat there with his arms crossed, Happy curled on his lap, and a pensive pout settled on his lips. Scraps of wrapping paper littered the floor and presents from his friends surrounded him, holiday music filling the air with suffocating joy, the smell of cookies wafting through the club hall, but something was missing, and he realized what it was when he spotted the large pile of gifts addressed to a certain newer member.

Lucy, when he had visited the day before, promised him an extraordinary gift for Christmas, but nothing labeled with his name had been from his blonde companion.

It felt strange in the new club hall without her there. Both of them had frowned at the changes made, agreeing with a shared glance that it was too different: it was larger and more advanced, with televisions and expensive floors and higher ceilings and even a _pool_ behind the building. Not even the old furniture could give the place the comfortable, cozy feeling it had held before.

No, it only started to feel that way when a table was thrown and then a brawl had begun, and when he looked across the room during a spare second in the fight and saw Lucy sitting at the bar, laughing about something Cana had said, he decided that maybe he _could_ call the new hall home.

But with Lucy absent, he felt strange; it wasn't right, her not being with her family on Christmas. Sure, maybe she was spending time with family elsewhere, but by the look on her face when he had visited her the day before, he could tell she wasn't too enthralled about the plans she had made - she even left _Plue_ in the care of Wendy so that he could spend Christmas with the club.

He was toying with some sort of puzzle that Lisanna had gotten him when Mirajane approached him, a Santa hat on her head and a smile playing on her lips. "Natsu, I've got something from Lucy for you," she announced to him and him only, beckoning for the male to follow her to the back room.

Confused but slightly excited, he followed, a new bounce in his step as Mira flicked the lights on. In the far corner of the room resided a large tank, and in the tank was a lizard-like creature: a salamander, bright red with black spots freckling its back.

"She told me to tell you it's not a dragon or even a reptile, but it reminded her of you, and Merry Christmas," Mira spoke softly, watching with a giggle as Natsu pressed his full face up to the glass, squishing his nose.

Natsu eyed the little creature for a while before backing away, turning to Mira with a determined expression. "I'm going to get Lucy," he decided, and Mira encouraged him with nothing but an eager nod and a joyous clap of her hands.

 _"Lucy?" He pushed her window further open, allowing himself to stick his head fully inside from his perch on the windowsill. Frost coated the glass and snowflakes blew in from the outdoors, though he didn't seem to mind._

 _"Natsu?" she questioned, looking at him in the mirror settled atop her vanity. Normally, she would have chided him about using the door and respecting her privacy, but something was different on Christmas Eve. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the club?"_

 _"If I'm not seeing you tomorrow, I might as well wish you a Merry Christmas tonight!" His feet landed on the floor and he closed the window behind him, turning back around to find Lucy standing in front of him._

 _His eyebrows bunched together. She was dressed to the nines; a long-sleeved dark blue dress clung to every curve of her body, the material giving way to skin at the middle of her thigh. Her hair was done in a neat bun on top of her head, though her bangs fell casually onto her face and a few strands snuck out of their tight hold. Not only that, but her lips were freshly glossed and her eyelashes were coated with a dark mascara, emphasizing her cocoa eyes._

 _"What are you dressed up for?" he asked nonchalantly. She didn't look bad, but the way she was dressed just did not suit her. It wasn't Lucy._

 _"I'm attending a dinner in my father's place," she spoke in a monotone voice, though the expression on her face was nothing short of distasteful._

 _"Why?" Obviously she didn't want to go._

 _"I have to," she explained. "Some of his business partners are more eager to meet me than see my father again."_

 _Again, "Why?" He looked at her, at the way her eyes avoided meeting his._

 _"Ahem, um," she began, but paused, biting her lip. She was being uncharacteristically nervous and quiet and it bothered him. "They and their sons like the idea of a pretty, sophisticated, mature woman." Her words were slow, unsure._

 _"But you're none of those things," he shrugged, laughing when she slapped his shoulder with her handbag. "What are you doing tomorrow? Why can't you come?"_

 _"I have to meet someone." The way she looked at him conveyed her feelings, and Natsu knew she was trying hard to reel them in. She looked hurt. He didn't want her to be hurt. Before he could protest, though, she was turning away, shoving some makeup into her bag. "I have to go soon. Oh, and I've got a great present waiting for you at the club hall."_

 _"Okay," he nodded, scratching the back of his neck. He would have questioned what his present was had he not felt the underlying tension in the room. "Well, Merry Christmas, Luce!"_

 _His grin shone on his face and he turned to the window, opening it once again so he could exit easily. Something stopped him. Someone. Arms wrapped around him from behind and he could feel Lucy pressed against his back, her face buried into his coat._

 _They hadn't known each other for long, not even a month, but they felt like they'd been friends forever. They very well could have been._

 _"What's wrong?"_

 _"Nothing."_

 _A pause._

 _"Merry Christmas to you too, Natsu."_

 _She slowly released him after that, watching ruefully as he slipped into the dark cover of the night._

Natsu, with Happy perched on his shoulder, strode right in to the Heartfilia Estate, waving casually to the maids he'd come to know the most, Valerie and Annette. "Hey Valerie, Annie," he greeted casually, beaming. "Merry Christmas!"

"Sir," Annette spoke timidly, tensely, as if raising her voice too much would awaken a terrible beast. "What are you doing here?"

He noticed the lack of Christmas cheer in the house; most of the hallways were dark and it was completely silent apart from their conversation. "I came to get Lucy! Where is she?"

Annette and Valerie exchanged glances, pursing their lips. "She's in the gardens," Valerie said finally, watching Annette as she disappeared down the hall. Moments later, the maid returned, a thick blanket in her arms. "Miss Heartfilia is in a fragile state right now."

" _Lucy_? She's tough as nails!" he brushed it off with a lazy grin - but when the maids didn't nod in agreement, when they held their solemn expressions, he sobered up. "What happened?" His voice was harder, more serious. Natsu began to calculate every incident that could have occurred overnight, blowing anything possible out of proportions.

"Nobody in the Heartfilia home has celebrated a holiday since the passing of Miss Layla," Valerie sighed, deciding to tell the young man. "Lucy herself hasn't properly celebrated a holiday since before her mother's death. Her father is never around, always away on business. It's a shame. She always spends Christmas alone and gives us the day off. We were concerned, though, so we came to check on the miss."

"Take this," Annette spoke, handing him the blanket that was folded in her arms. It was warm. "She's been out for awhile."

The pink-haired teenager held the mass of material closely to himself, turning in the direction of the gardens, but a hand on his bicep obstructed his intended path. When he looked at the perpetrator, Valerie, his eyebrows shot up. "Natsu," she whispered pleadingly, seeming to swallow her pride. The maid was not fond of him (or, rather, his destructive habits) and she voiced her opinion in one way or another every time he visited Lucy. In the few days he has known her, he could've never envisioned the sad expression that morphed her usually annoyed features. They really did care for Lucy. "Don't let her be alone anymore. Please."

Natsu nodded, practically running to the gardens. His face was unreadable but the concern coursed through his veins as he surveyed the gardens. They were vast and draped in white, making it even harder to distinguish direction; nonetheless, Natsu pushed his way past the flowers and plants, momentarily fighting with a thorn bush that snagged at his pajama pants, before he was finally able to locate his target.

Lucy was definitely not dressed for the snowy weather. All she wore was a pair of leggings and a long sleeve shirt, which were both obviously soaked through by the merciless snow pelting down from the sky above. Her golden blonde hair was drenched to a dull dark blonde and she was slumped over in a somewhat defeated manner. One step closer, then he stopped again. She was on her knees in front of a stone structure, her arms folded atop it and her face hidden behind them. The stone structure had words written on it that he couldn't read from where he stood, but he didn't need to read them; the towering statue of an angel let him know that it must have been her mother's grave.

 _Don't let her be alone anymore._

He ambled towards her cautiously, the snow crunching obnoxiously under his boots; she didn't move. It wasn't until he was standing next to her that he spoke:

"Lucy!" His voice was chipper, extraordinarily upbeat, like always, but the smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes. Happy mewled.

His fists bunched the blanket when she looked up at him. Her lips were parted in surprise, as if she didn't know what to say. Her eyes were brimming with fresh tears and her cheeks, already painted with wet streams, were a dark red, stinging from the cold. She looked so broken and lonely. He didn't like it when she cried, he decided. He didn't like it at all.

"Na… tsu?" she breathed confusedly, hands falling to her lap as she stared up at him.

"Come on!" he grinned, offering his hand. "Everyone's waiting!"

She was shaking. Slowly, ever so slowly, her gaze fell from his face to his hand, and he watched as all the thoughts in her mind fell into place. Her lip quivered and she pushed herself off of the ground quickly, knocking his hand out of the way. " _Wah_!" she wailed, throwing her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. "N _-Natsu_!"

"Hey-" he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air, panic clear on his face. "What's wrong? Don't cry, Lucy! I'm gonna take you back to the club hall!" It was hopeless, though, because his words triggered something and only made her cry harder, her sobs muffled against his chest. "It's okay!" He didn't just dislike when she cried, he realized. He _hated_ it. "Hey, stop crying." His words were softer and then his arms wrapped around her, draping the blanket over her shoulders in the process.

They stood like that for a while, disregarding the inclement weather erupting around them. Only when her sobs died down to sniffles did he speak. "C'mon, Luce," he repeated, nudging her gently. She leaned back, eyes red around the edges but livelier than they had been before. He smiled.

He ended up carrying her on his back, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck and her cheek pressed against his the back of his neck. Happy, upset that Natsu's shoulders had been occupied by part of Lucy's arms, opted for sitting on Lucy's shoulders instead, burying himself under the blanket that was still pulled tightly around the blonde.

Silence was exchanged between them, only disrupted by the howling of the wind and the sound of Natsu's shoes crushing the snow beneath him. Natsu almost believed she had fallen into a light slumber until he heard he speak.

"Thank you."

He hummed, nodding his head. "You're not alone anymore," he assured calmly, casually, but the way her grip on him tightened let him know that it wasn't just a casual thing to her. "I liked your present."

Somehow he knew she was smiling.

"Good," she murmured approvingly, closing her eyes. He was warm. She was freezing, and he was warm. She was upset, and he was _so_ warm. "Sorry I couldn't get you a real dragon." Her voice was lightening up, and she was _teasing_ him. She was slowly but surely converting back to her happy self.

"It's okay. You can always get me one for my birthday," he assured, halting his movements once he reached the doors of the club hall. He didn't want to put her down yet, because somewhere deep inside of him, he feared that once her feet touched the ground, she would turn tail and dash away into the snow to be alone again.

He understood. Lucy had no one when her mother passed. The maids were always at her beck and call, but she wanted her mother and no one else. She probably lashed out as a young girl, too emotionally vitiated to cope properly - not to mention the lack of a father figure. A man who had been in a position able to help her, to fix her, instead gave her the cold shoulder and worked on building a wrought company. He failed to even mend himself. She must have been so lonely, so lonely that she assumed she had to do everything on her own. She probably did everything on her own. She had been all alone. He understood.

He lost his father like she lost her mother.

She was startled when his foot kicked the door in and his voice ripped through the cheery holiday music. "We're here!" Letting the warmth of the building envelop her, Lucy stood on her own two feet, discarding the wet blanket and settling for wrapping her arms around herself. Everyone was looking at her. She tried to shrink.

"Lucy?" It was Gray's voice, and she felt his hand on her shoulder. "What the hell happened, Flame Head?"

"I didn't do anything!" Natsu protested, whirling to face Gray.

"Lu-chan!" Levy exclaimed, coming forth to greet her friend with a hug. She jumped back. "You're freezing."

"Here." Gray set his jacket on her shoulders before proceeding to fight Natsu, insults flying.

Lucy stuck her arms through the sleeves, sighing comfortably at the immediate change in temperature. She was about to go ask Mira for a hot chocolate when the white-haired girl appeared in front of her, clasping her hands together with a smile. "Your presents are over here!" Mira took her hand, tugging her along towards the Christmas tree that stood on the far end of the room. "Everybody _loved_ the presents you got them!"

Relief flooded through her. She ensured that every single club member received a gift from her, but she was unsure when picking them out; Natsu, obviously, had received a pet salamander, complete with a supply of food and a guide on how to care for them. For Levy, she had bought an entire new series by Levy's favorite author, every book signed with a little message from the writer. Gray and Juvia were given tickets to a ski-and-snowboard resort that Lucy had heard about. With much knowledge on Erza's love of cakes, Lucy had bought for the redhead a year-long pass for free cakes from a very high-end bakery on the outskirts of town. Wendy was gifted many dresses, and Gajeel, a new amplifier for his guitar that he loved so dearly. Everyone got presents according to the knowledge Lucy held of what they liked - even Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily were given their favorite foods.

"Here! These are yours!"

Lucy focused again, spotting the pile of gifts, all labeled with her name. Her mouth fell agape. There had to be a gift from _everybody_ in that pile.

It was strange. Heat spread throughout her body and her chest tingled, tears springing to her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Mira looked at her, still smiling, as the blonde brought a hand to cover her mouth, tears forming in her eyes once again. No one had gotten her a Christmas present since the Christmas before Layla's death; she spent seven Christmases without celebration. No one treated her like family in the seven years since her mother's death; no one seemed to care about her as much as these people did. She had known them for barely a month and already, already they loved her. They bought her Christmas presents even though she insisted she didn't need anything. They made her _so_ indescribably happy.

"Oh no! Lucy, don't cry! What's wrong? Look, we all got you presents!" Natsu was in front of her, panicking, gesturing wildly to the unseen.

"Those are happy tears, Natsu," Mira informed him, patting his shoulder and watching Lucy adoringly.

It took Lucy a moment to bring her noiseless cry down to a hiccup, but then people were surrounding her, telling her which gifts to open first. She picked a small box decorated with pink wrapping paper and white ribbons, which so happened to be from Mira, Lisanna, and Elfman. It was a necklace; a silver heart locket hung from a plain silver chain, and engraved on the inside was the Fairy Tail insignia, along with the initials _FTFC._ She immediately put it on, beaming.

Making quick work of the rest of her gifts, she realized that she only had one gift remaining. Already she had received hair bows, jewelry, clothes, books, notebooks, and many things akin to those - all neatly wrapped in different colors, all proudly presented to her by the giver. So when Natsu finally meandered back to her, glad that the attention of the other club members was directed elsewhere, she took his gift gratefully, surprised when her fingers found soft fabric rather than wrapping paper.

He noticed the fleeting look of confusion. "It's a scarf, since you kept complaining about how you only had one!" he explained gleefully, rubbing the back of his neck.

She nodded. Only once or twice did she mention only owning one scarf, but it was rather endearing that he remembered something so petty. Carefully, she unraveled the material, finding a wooden frame. A picture frame.

It fit three pictures; all three of the pictures that had been taken during her welcoming party. In the first one, she was smiling at the camera, sheer joy on her face. Natsu's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and there was a grin on his face, while Gray pressed against her other side, his signature smirk resting on his lips. Cana had an arm wrapped around Gray's side, her other hand resting on Wendy's shoulder. On the opposite side of Natsu were Erza and Levy, behind them Gajeel (who had teasingly ruffled Levy's hair). Juvia stood next to Cana, a look of death on her face as she glowered at both women touching the boy she loved. Laxus stood behind Lucy, towering impressively over her meager height, with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen (who was _oddly_ close to Elfman) on his left, and Mirajane standing on his right, accompanied by Lisanna. Other members stood around, but everyone (Juvia being the exception), was beaming brilliantly at the camera. The second picture was a different story. Lucy looked troubled as she stared at Gray, who was exchanging ferocious glares with Natsu. Everybody in the picture was looking at the trio; Juvia was smiling, Laxus was unamused, Mira was unfazed, Erza was angry, and the like. The third picture was lacking the faces of the two boys, showing only their limbs in the air. Erza stood next to Lucy, who was looking up at her, completely awestruck. Everyone, save for Lucy, Gray, and Natsu, was once again looking at the camera, although only some were smiling.

It made _her_ smile.

"Thank you!" she burst, holding the present to her chest and hugging him with her free arm. It took him a second to hug her back, but he did, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. She could feel him smiling. "Thank you so much…"

"No problem, Lucy!"

Twenty minutes later all of the presents were separated into piles and everybody was chatting excitedly. Lucy, having traded her drenched shirt for a pink sweater given to her by Gray, sat comfortably on a sofa chair while sipping a hot chocolate, Plue snoozing in her lap. Natsu had managed to squeeze into the chair next to her, holding a plate stacked with chocolate chip cookies (occasionally Lucy would steal one when she thought he wasn't looking, but he knew).

"Wendy," Lucy spoke out of the blue, gaze finding her blue-haired friend. The girl sat on the floor a little ways away, chatting away with Romeo about something or another, but Lucy grabbed her attention immediately. "How did your friend like their present?"

Wendy blushed, glancing from Romeo to Natsu and then to Lucy, and then she was smiling brightly. "They loved it!"

"What did you end up giving them?" Lucy realized that Wendy hadn't actually told her what the gift was - not that it mattered, as long as Wendy and her friend were happy.

"I played them a song," Wendy mumbled, as if embarrassed. "On the piano."

"You can play piano?" Lucy gushed, eyes widening as she leaned forward. "You have to play for me sometime - I mean, if you _want_ to! I love the piano. I know a little bit myself." Cue the hair flip. "I used to do recitals all the time before-" That was where she cut herself off, face draining of color. _Before my mom died._

Natsu noticed her abrupt silence and he opened his mouth, about to question her, but he was interrupted.

"No way!" It was Cana's voice. The brunette came storming towards the pair, a devious grin on her face. Lucy gulped - that look always meant something bad for her.

"Yo! Flame Brain is caught under the mistletoe!" Gray bellowed, laughing hysterically.

 _Oh no_. Lucy's head fell back, her eyes catching the tiny bundle of leaves above the chair, and she willed for them to burst into flames. They did not.

"I knew it was meant to be!" squealed Mira, eyes wide with delight and a blithe smile gracing her lips.

"Mistletoe?" Natsu followed Lucy's gaze before he realized it - the kissing plant of death, as Gray had deemed it last year, was hanging over his head. "Oh, mistletoe!"

"No way!" Lucy shook her head, arms crossing in an 'x' shape in front of her. "I don't care about dumb mistletoe."

"You _have_ to! Any two club members caught under the mistletoe have to kiss! It's club _tradition_!" Cana was smirking, her eyes burning holes into Lucy's very being. All eyes were on the pair now. She felt like a deer surrounded by a pack of hungry tigers.

Lucy fumed, cheeks puffed out indignantly. " _Nooooooooo._ "

"C'mon," Natsu shrugged, turning towards her. He ignored the alarmed expression sent his way by the blonde. "It's not like it'll kill us."

"I guess…" Lucy nodded slowly, before shaking her head. "But-but-but, _still_!"

Her eyes widened when she looked at Natsu, panic written on her face. He was fully facing her, eyes closed, and then he began leaning in.

 _He's going to do it._

She squirmed where she sat, hands balling into fists in her lap. Plue whined, nuzzling against her arm.

 _He's actually going to kiss me._

He was only centimeters away now. She could feel his breath on her face, the heat radiating from his body, and most of all, the gawking stares of everyone around them.

 _Does he even know the meaning of kissing?_

She squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath, and then…

* * *

 **Bahahaha, yes, I'm leaving it off there. I did it - I pulled the cliche, caught-under-the-mistletoe trope and I'm proud. ;)**

 **Anyways, this is my longest chapter by _far_! Over 5.2k words! Given, I did manage to fit a lot into it, but whatever.**

 **In the upcoming chapters, I'm going to be focusing on Lucy's friendships with the girls, more about her mother, and a bit of Natsu's past, too! The Winter Break will last for a few chapters, then we'll be moving on to the battle against Grimoire Heart.**

 **If you haven't noticed in recent chapters, I've been taking some events from canon and changing them so they fit into this AU - because I think they're very important in developing the characters! :)**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Chapter thirteen should be up tomorrow or the following day.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reads, faves, follows, and reviews (reviews are especially welcome right about now)! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Natsu fully leaned in, expecting to meet a pair of lips - which he did. Though, they were a lot furrier than he would have thought. _When did Lucy grow a mustache? Wait-is she LICKING my face?!_

His eyes snapped open and he wasn't met with the warm brown eyes of Lucy, but rather, the dark, almost black eyes of her dog, Plue. Lucy had turned her head to the side, eyes clenched shut, and opted for holding Plue in between them, protecting herself from being kissed.

Natsu leaned back, sputtering, wiping the dog slobber from his face and scowling at Plue. It's not that he _wanted_ to kiss Lucy; he just would've rather not made out with a dog.

"We weren't the only two under the mistletoe," Lucy sighed, letting Plue run free. He seemed just as disgusted as Natsu.

Meanwhile, the other club members were having a laugh, and, Lucy noticed, Cana had recorded the _whole_ thing. Sure, she felt bad for Natsu, but she refused to give her first kiss to someone whom she had met not even a month ago - not that she would ever mention she hadn't kissed anyone before. It was due to the fact that her father never allowed her to have a boyfriend, and even if she wanted one, she had attended very pretentious schools for the majority of her life. Most of the boys there were only interested in her family name.

The blonde ran a hand down the side of her face, eyes closed in relief before she pushed herself off the couch. "I need more hot chocolate," she announced to no one in particular, walking behind the bar to get it herself.

Mira was too busy whining about how her _OTP_ was almost canon.

It was only a few minutes later that everybody had returned to their previous activities. Lucy sat at the bar, huddled over her mug and thinking hard about something.

"Why didn't Lucy want to kiss Natsu-san?" Juvia questioned from her left.

Cana butted in, leaning against Lucy, eyebrows raised in suspicion. "Yeah, why not? Someone else caught your eye?"

"It's Gray-sama, isn't it?" Juvia's temper seemed to flare.

"No, no!" Lucy denied, shaking her head vehemently. "I'm not interested in anybody! Especially not anyone from the club!"

Still, Cana eyed her for a moment. "Wait…" she gasped, leaning even closer - so close that Lucy could feel Cana's breath on her cheek. "Have you kissed anyone before, Lucy?" She was teasing her, but the curiosity was still prevalent in her words.

A pout settled on Lucy's lips as she shoved Cana away, crossing her arms and glaring at her lap. She said nothing.

"You haven't!" Cana exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few people nearby - including Mira.

"Haven't what?" Mira inquired.

Cana leaned over the bar, her voice dangerously low. "Our busty blonde hasn't had her first kiss."

"Really?" Mira seemed surprised, and Lucy didn't know whether to be offended or flattered.

"That's so cute, Lucy," Cana grinned, nudging her friend. "If you don't find that special someone, I wouldn't mind being your first kiss."

Lucy flushed when Cana slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Thanks, Cana," she nodded halfheartedly.

"Oh, Lucy, by the way," the other said, her voice louder than before, "when can I come visit your house?"

The question struck a chord in Lucy. She was surprised, having been expecting something totally perverse or embarrassing, but the way Cana phrased it sounded, at least, completely innocent. "Um…" she trailed off, thinking about it. "I mean, you could… come over tonight, if you want." With a nonchalant shrug, she glanced over at Cana, silently hoping that the brunette agreed. She didn't want to be alone.

"Yeah, I'm all for it!" she laughed, retracting her arm from Lucy's shoulders only to give her a pat on the back. "Maybe you should have a girl's night and invite the other girls over."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Lucy mused, leaning her elbows on the counter. "Hey Mira, would you and Lisanna wanna come over?"

"We'd love to!" the white-haired woman chimed, walking away to serve some drinks to the others.

"Juvia wouldn't mind spending the night at Lucy's home," Juvia hummed before Lucy could even invite her.

"I will come too," Erza spoke from behind Lucy, scaring the wits out of her.

As it turned out, almost all of the girls were attending the sleepover: Cana, Juvia, Mira, Lisanna, Erza, Bisca, Wendy, Levy, Kinana, Laki, and even Evergreen decided to spend the night by the time the Christmas celebrations were over.

"Hey, if they're all spending the night, I am too!" Natsu stated boldly, only flinching slightly when Erza's menacing gaze landed on him.

"Girls only!" Erza responded, promptly sending him flying across the room with a single kick. "We will be leaving now. Merry Christmas, everyone!"

A few people hollered back "Merry Christmas" or "be careful out there," while others grumbled about being unable to sleep in a mansion. Lucy's stomach turned.

In the end, everybody decided to pile into each other's cars with their presents (Lucy was grateful her car wasn't here because she didn't want any more comments on her wealth). Lucy, Levy, Lisanna, and Erza piled into Mira's car; Juvia, Wendy, and Evergreen sat in Cana's car, and Lucy could've sworn she heard them arguing about which radio station to turn on; Kinana and Laki took Kinana's car without complaint.

Lucy spent the whole ride staring out the window, watching the snow build on the ground, her chin cupped in her right hand. The car was filled with warmth; not with heat, no, but it was filled with the warmth of love and kindness and friendship, and it felt like home. Those girls… That club… It was her home.

"What's on your mind, Lu?" Levy asked, leaning forward to be in Lucy's area of vision.

"Nothing," she brushed it off, smiling at Levy. "Just thinking about how lucky I am."

* * *

"I can't believe you have an indoor spa," Cana muttered, sinking lower into the water. All twelve girls were currently soaking in a large bath, eyes closed and content with relaxing. "You really are loaded."

"Yeah, I guess…" Lucy nodded, biting her lip and glancing down at the water.

"So," Mira began devilishly, her eyes gleaming. Lucy felt Lisanna scoot closer to her. "Let's play a game!"

"Count me in." Erza was always up for a challenge.

"If you had to pick one person in the club to date, who would it be?"

At the question, horror was etched onto many faces, Lucy included. Hadn't she already voiced her opinion on that matter? Not one male in the entire club piqued her romantic interests, no matter if they did before she got to know them.

"I have no opinion on the matter," Erza stated bluntly. "I am not attracted to anybody in the club."

"What about outside the club?" Lucy piped up, leaning towards Erza with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her lips.

"U-Uh… No…" It was useless. Everybody could tell by the reddening of her cheeks that Erza was a big fat liar.

"Do they go to the school?" Lucy pressed, eyes widening.

"Yes." The red-haired girl dropped her head in defeat, shoulders slumping as if to emphasize her feelings.

"What about Wendy?" Mira beamed, causing all eyes to focus on the youngest girl. "I heard something about you having a _crush_."

Wendy's eyes landed on Lucy and the blonde shook her head slowly. She hadn't breathed a word of their conversation to anybody. "Well, um…" Wendy trailed off, blushing furiously. "Th-They don't go to our school."

"I thought for sure you and Romeo had something going on!"

"Who is it, Wendy?!"

"Do they like you back?"

"You don't have to say so," Lucy butted in, waving off everybody else as she waded through the water to sit next to Wendy. "Don't tell us until you're comfortable."

"Thanks, Lucy-san," Wendy huffed in relief, smiling brightly at the older girl.

Lucy remembered being a freshman; she vividly remembered how tough it was to make friends, especially when she attended a new school, and how they teased her for nothing and how they teased someone else when said person was rumored to have a crush. Freshman life was harsh.

"And what about _you_ , Lucy?" Cana grinned, sliding across the seat towards Lucy, leaning in _very_ closely. Good thing Lucy was comfortable around her, or Cana would have probably gotten socked in the face every time she invaded Lucy's personal space bubble.

"I already told you," Lucy whined, her cheeks tinting pink. "I'm not interested in anyone."

"Juvia would date Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed, hearts in her eyes as she clasped her hands together.

"That much was obvious," Cana mumbled, shaking her head and leaning back.

Once the girls finished digging into each other's souls, they dressed in pajamas, gathered pillows and blankets, and settled comfortably in Lucy's living room.

"Miss Lucy," Annette greeted, smiling. Valerie stood beside her, her perpetual expression of irritation masking her face, but she seemed more relaxed than usual. "It's good to see you spending time with your friends."

"You have _maids_?" Evergreen scoffed in disbelief, eyeing the two women. They weren't the typical 'sexy, young maids' that seemed to worm their way into many works of fiction, but rather, they were in their thirties, looking warm and giving off a maternal feel.

"Nice to see you again, Annette, Valerie," Erza greeted, nodding.

"The pleasure is all ours, Miss Erza," Annette assured.

"You guys can go home now," Lucy murmured, walking up to them. Annette's eyes widened slightly while Valerie quirked an eyebrow. "I'm okay. I promise." With a curt nod, they both turned to leave, almost in complete synchronization, but Lucy grabbed their wrists, letting out a breath. "Thank you."

"You're always welcome, Lucy," Annette assured.

Valerie nodded in silent agreement, and then they were gone.

"Lucy, we should order a pizza!" Levy suggested enthusiastically from her spot on the couch, squished between Erza and Cana.

"Or _three_ ," Lucy muttered, dragging a hand down her face before smiling cheerfully, turning to her friends with her hands on her hips. "Okay! We can order three large pizzas and we have a _ton_ of ice cream in the freezer! Oh, and also, we have a lot of board games in the hall closet, so we can play those!"

"I'll call the pizza place," Mira grinned sweetly, her voice as angelic as ever as she dialed the number on her cell phone.

"I don't eat pizza. It's really unheal-" Evergreen began, but she was silenced by Erza's glare.

"You will eat it!" Erza growled, eyes blazing angrily.

Evergreen gulped and nodded quickly.

"I'll go pick out board games," Cana smirked, standing up, dragging Lisanna with her.

Moments later, Lucy heard them shout from the hallway. "Uh, Lucy?" came Lisanna's voice. She sounded stumped, and Lucy could only slump her shoulders. " _Which_ hall closet?"

"The one with the French doors!"

Silence fell. Then, "This is _not_ a closet! This is like… a whole room!"

"Found the games!"

"Is that Twister?!"

Lucy sighed loudly, turning her attention back to the girls in the room.

Mira was smiling on the phone, holding a hand to her lips. "Yes, I'd like three large pepperoni pizzas!" A pause. "Ooh, breadsticks would be wonderful!" Lucy's eyes bugged out of her head as Mira continued to order practically the entire menu. "That's all! Thank you so much! We're in the big mansion on Strawberry Street. Oh, and send the cutest pizza boy you have!" The white-haired girl hung up with a giggle, and Lucy's head dropped.

 _They're going to be the death of me._

"Wendy…" Lucy croaked out pitifully, weak eyes finding the blue-haired girl. "Wanna come help me get the ice cream?"

"Sure!"

The freezer was the type one would find in a restaurant - one into which a person could walk. When Lucy motioned to the ice cream, Wendy's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"Here," Lucy smiled, grabbing two cartons and handing them to Wendy. Then she was piling them into the girl's arms and her own until each of them were carrying about ten large containers. " _Wow_ , I'm freezing!"

Wendy nodded in agreement, shuffling slowly towards the door. Then she stopped, turning to face Lucy and biting her lip, fidgeting where she stood. "Lucy-san…?"

"What is it?" Lucy questioned, leaning forward slightly. The way Wendy was squirming reminder her of the other day, when she spoke about the person she _liked_.

"Okay," Wendy burst, her cheeks flushing darkly. "I like Chelia!"

Lucy was unable to contain the squeal of excitement, her eyes sparkling as she nearly dropped the ice cream in an attempt to lean down to Wendy's height. "That's so cute!"

"And I wanna ask her to be… my… girlfriend." Each word got quieter until it was just a whisper, Wendy's face as red as a tomato, but she looked almost conflicted. "I'm not sure if she likes me, though…"

Lucy walked past her and out of the freezer, setting her sweets on a nearby countertop. Wendy followed and closed the door behind her, relieved that the stinging pain of frostbite was no longer a threat to her as she set her ice cream next to Lucy's.

"She'd be crazy not to like you," Lucy assured, patting Wendy on the head and tilting her own to the side. The smile on her face had lost its thrill, replaced with tenderness and love. "I think the best way to go about it is just to be upfront and honest. Tell her how you feel. You guys seem like really good friends to me, so if it doesn't work out, you guys can still be best friends. But, really, Wendy, I think you'd be surprised if you just told her."

"Yeah," Wendy thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I will."

Lucy laughed a little, ruffling her hair. "That's what I'm talking about! Now come on, the girls are gonna start thinking I got lost in my own house."

By the time the pizza arrived, all of the girls were involved in a very intense game of Twister. Lucy herself was twisted like a pretzel, so she was the first to jump at the chance to wiggle her way out of the mass of limbs and _breasts_ (more often than she'd like to admit did she have breasts pushed against her face in the game, or it was a face pushed into her breasts - but it was a game where most people ended up in compromising positions, so she could not complain).

"I'm coming too!" Mira exclaimed. She had been the spinner that round, so no harm done on her part. Wendy offered to be the temporary spinner and judge.

Lucy had already prepared the money she knew she would owe, and when she opened the door, her breath caught in her throat.

He _was_ cute. Really cute.

"Hello!" Mira greeted, waving happily. "Thank you!" Then she took the mountain of food out of the poor boy's arms, disappearing towards the living room.

He seemed to be in as much of a daze as Lucy was, but he managed to bring himself back to reality first. "Uh, that'll be sixty-four jewels."

His words caused the gears of Lucy's mind to start moving again, and she nodded, extending her hand with the hundred jewels in it. "Here you go. You can keep the change as a tip."

"Thanks," he smiled, but then his grin became teasing. "So, I heard you were asking for the _cutest_ pizza boy we have."

Lucy's face felt like it was on fire. "That wasn't me," she whined indignantly, cheeks puffing out in the usual way they did when she was annoyed. "That was my friend Mira who called."

He laughed. "I'm Rhys."

"Lucy," she sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

"Heartfilia, right?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"How did you know?" The look on her face allowed him to realize that she was not a fan of her own name.

"You and your club were on the news," he pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck. "When that weird guy… Ha… Hati…"

"Hakitsui," she completed for him, her gaze falling to the ground. "Yeah, him."

"If it's any consolation, the stories I heard were totally badass." His words did make her feel better, in a way, but something was _missing_. "Anyways, I have to do my next run, but it was nice to meet you, Lucy. Maybe we could swap numbers?"

So they did and he was sent of with a wave and a smile. When Lucy returned to her friends, everybody was already chowing down on pizza, and she took a slice for herself before realizing everybody was staring at her. "Do I have something on my face?"

"How was the pizza boy?" Cana grinned slyly, eyebrows raising in suggestion.

She flushed. "He was… cute."

" _Just_ cute?" Laki spoke up, finally getting properly involved in a conversation. "Or… _cute_."

"He was _cute_ ," Lucy admitted, taking a bite of her pizza to distract herself. "We exchanged numbers."

"Mira, you're a genius!" Cana exclaimed happily. "Next time, hook _me_ up with a cute delivery boy."

* * *

Lucy sat in the window seat, knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the cloudless sky. For a day, at least, the relentless snow had ceased its attack, allowing her to once again enjoy the glistening stars.

Around the room, everybody else was passed out; it _was_ past five in the morning, after all. While only Laki and Evergreen slept on the couch (upon Lucy's fearsome orders of who-slept-where), the rest of the girls were strewn across the floor. They managed to construct a large bed out of pillows and blankets and everybody was snoozing the night away - except for Lucy.

Her brown eyes stared in wonder out the window, so many thoughts rushing through her head that she barely had time to process all of them. Slowly her mind wandered back to the day her mother died.

" _W-What do you mean Mommy's gone?" Little Lucy Heartfilia hiccuped, rubbing at a teary eye with her hands. Even as a ten-year-old, Lucy knew what death was; accepting it was another matter entirely. "My mommy promised she would be with me forever." Her lip quivered but she just stared up at Valerie, who was trying as tenderly as she could to explain the situation to the young heiress._

" _Your mother can't be with you anymore," she murmured, crouching down to Lucy's height. "She had to go away, and you won't see her for awhile. But she's waiting for you, Miss Lucy, I promise."_

" _I don't want her to wait for me!" the blonde wailed, the dam holding back her tears bursting. "I want my mommy to play with me, and teach me more about the stars, and tell me bedtime stories, and-and I want her to be with me!"_

 _The funeral was three days later._

 _Lucy remained quiet throughout, toying with the hem of her petite black dress as she listened to her father speak. He loved her mother too, so why, she wondered, did he let her go somewhere so far away? She wouldn't understand that he couldn't control life and death until a year later._

 _Everybody talked about what a wonderful person her mother was, but nobody talked about finding her. Valerie told her that Layla was in a faraway land, where fairies and dragons and magic existed, and Lucy wanted to go find her._

 _She tried. Lucy Heartfilia ran away from home two days after the funeral, carrying a backpack filled with the keys her mother entrusted to her, granola bars, two big water bottles, and some money. It did not take long for her father's guards to find her at the bus stop, holding a ticket in her hand to take her to the capital city, Crocus. They picked her up._

 _She kicked and screamed and bit and hit, trying her hardest to wiggle her way out of the strong man's grasp, but it was to no avail. "Let me go!" she had shouted, beating her fists against the man's chest. "I have-I have to go find my mommy!"_

" _Your mother's dead."_

"Lucy?" She was brought back into the future by Lisanna's voice. The girl took a seat on to opposite edge of the window bench, mimicking Lucy's position, their legs pressed against each other's - although her eyes were focused on the blonde. "What are you still doing up?"

Lucy felt mildly guilty when she noticed how tired Lisanna looked. The usually perfect hair on her head was sticking out in different places and she was constantly yawning. Her eyelids were half opened, sleep threatening to take over at any moment, but the concern still shone there.

"I can't sleep," Lucy admitted, resting her chin on her knees as she finally met Lisanna's eyes. "I have a lot on my mind."

"I meant to ask earlier…" Lisanna trailed off, biting her lip. It was obvious that she was contemplating whether or not she _should_ have asked. In the end, she caved into her curiosity. "What happened yesterday morning? You and Natsu came in but neither of you said anything. Mira told me he was going to get you, and that was it. We were really worried when we saw you."

Lucy's blood turned to ice. She angled her head to gaze out the window once more, unable to keep her stare settled on Lisanna. "I'm sorry I made you worry," she whispered. "I…"

"You can talk to me," Lisanna soothed, blue eyes now fully widened.

"Holidays are tough for me," she forced out, her throat becoming tight as the familiar sensation of wanting to cry overtook her. She felt so _weak._ "My father and I don't spend much time together unless he needs to take me to a business party." The pause she left was to allow herself to prepare for telling the rest, but it left Lisanna thinking. "We've been that way… ever since my mother… died." The word was choked out, and before she knew it, tears were slowly and silently dripping down her cheeks. "I haven't celebrated a holiday in seven years. Every Christmas, I spend the day alone, by my mother's grave. I never really had close friends before… I didn't understand that I could spend Christmas with you guys. I was so used… to staying by her grave that I couldn't _not_ do it. Then… then Natsu found me."

Quiet sobs racked her body now, and before she could even register, Lisanna had pulled her into a hug. It felt so nice. "It's okay, Lucy," Lisanna assured. It sounded like she was smiling. "We're all here for you, no matter what. We're family."

"I-I still can't believe it," Lucy whimpered, her voice muffled by Lisanna's shoulder. "I never had anyone."

"You have us."

Lucy lost track of how long she cried on Lisanna's shoulder, and when she was finally able to calm down, she pulled back. "Thank you," she breathed. It felt relieving to talk about it, and Lisanna listened so well. She was definitely someone Lucy could count on. Everybody in the club was.

"You're always welcome," Lisanna smiled, and Lucy thought it looked almost identical to Mira's.

"I'm going to go take a bath." It was nearly six already, so Lucy saw no point in trying to sleep when she wasn't tired. "You should go back to sleep."

"Mmhm," Lisanna nodded, barely conscious.

Lucy smiled.

* * *

Natsu walked into the Heartfilia Estate, hands in his pockets, Happy on his shoulder; all things were as usual. He tiptoed into the living room, peeking around the corner and nearly shrieking in terror. All of the girls from the club were asleep, and the person closest to him was the one and only _Erza_. Slowly, he backed away, gathering all of the information he needed: Lucy was not sleeping.

Suddenly Plue ran towards him, yipping happily, and Natsu stumbled over himself before grabbing the dog, placing a hand over its mouth. " _Shh_ , or you'll wake the beast," Natsu squeaked, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that Erza was still asleep. Thankfully, his prayers were answered.

" _Mroww,_ " Happy mewed, nudging Plue with his paw.

The dog panted for a moment and leapt from Natsu's hold, paws tapping the floor rhythmically. Continuously he looked behind him, as if telling Natsu to follow him - so he did, and the white ball of fluff led him right to the door that opened out to the gardens.

"Lucy's out here again?" Natsu questioned, and as if to answer, Plue stood on his back legs, using his puppy claws to scratch at the wooden frame.

Worry swelled within Natsu's chest as he opened to door, stepping out into the frigid air. What if he found her in the same position as yesterday? Was she sad again? Was she _crying_ again? His fists clenched at the thought, and he started on the familiar path to Layla Heartfilia's grave. He hated it when any of his friends cried, especially Lucy. Sure, she was weird, and she yelled at him sometimes, but she was also kind to everyone. She had a heart bigger than anyone he knew, and she deserved to be happy. She deserved to never cry again, he decided, although he knew it was impossible.

He found her.

She was standing in front of the grave, head tilted back and bright eyes scrutinizing the statue atop the structure. No tears streaked her face and rather than sadness, there was a pensive expression on her features. Properly clad in a heavy jacket, a dress, leggings, boots, and, he noticed, the blue scarf he had given to her the day before, she stood there, sipping a from a steaming mug.

It stunned him when she spoke. "My mom died a little over seven years ago." She did not even spare him a glance, but he could see from his spot how her hands tightened around the cup she held. "She was my best friend - my only friend, really. I loved her more than anything… and so did my father. It was hard… losing her." Finally, she glimpsed over her shoulder at him, before turning her eyes to the hot chocolate in her hands. "I didn't understand… what it meant for someone to die. Valerie told me that she went to a faraway land filled with magic and she would wait for me as long as I needed." A light laugh bubbled from her lips as she shook her head. "Even so, I wanted to go with her. After her funeral, I ran away from home.

"It didn't take them long to find me. I bought a bus ticket to Crocus and when I got the stop, they found me before I could board." She paused, rolling her lips nervously. This was something personal, he could tell. It was something serious that she had never shared with anyone before, and he felt warmth spread in his chest when he realized how much she must trust him. "I cried and screamed at them to put me down. I told them that I was going to find my mom. The man who carried me just looked at me and said 'your mother's dead.' I locked myself in my room for days. I wouldn't eat or talk to anyone. The maids were the only ones allowed in my room, and I even lashed out at them. It was stupid, but they forgave me. That's when my father started distancing himself. I guess it's because I look a lot like my mom. I'm just a constant reminder of her." She drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Christmas rolled around. He left and I had no presents. I was confused and I cried, and I locked myself in my room again. Every time I tried to talk to him, he would be busy with work. All he cared about was that _stupid_ company." Her voice was bitter when she spoke of Heartfilia Konzern, and now he understood why the sadness was always in her eyes at the mention of her father's job. "My birthday came and I expected him to celebrate it. I was turning eleven. I walked into his office that morning with a smile on my face, but before I said anything, he was telling me to get out. I tried to talk, but he yelled at me, telling me to stop bothering him. We didn't celebrate anything anymore. I was still trying to heal, but then I had to deal with the loss of both my parents, because Jude Heartfilia turned into someone who wasn't my dad. I did all of it alone. That's why." Her blonde hair whipped around her head as she whirled to face him. "That's why I thought I couldn't spend Christmas with you guys. I'm so used to being alone that it was overwhelming to be surrounded by so many… so many people who care about me." Her voice cracked on the last word and her bottom lip stuck out, looking like she was ready to cry, but she did not.

"I get it," he nodded, his eyes befalling the statue of an angel. "My dad disappeared seven years ago. He was my adoptive father, but the only parent I ever knew." Lucy was looking at him, he knew. "I still don't know where he went. I searched for a year, even when Makarov took me in. Every now and then, I still hope he'll come back. I know he's out there." He did. Somewhere inside of him, he knew that Igneel was alive. "He was the best dad, and I'm pretty sure he had a reason to leave, but… it doesn't mean it hurts any less."

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered. She didn't know what she could say.

"Ever since then, I've been friends with Erza, Mira, and the others. Makarov took a lot of kids under his wing; he was like a foster granddad. Cana, Gray, Erza, Mira, Elfman, Lisanna - they were all there already. They're my family. Everyone in the club is." Finally, he met Lucy's eyes and flashed her a grin. "You too, Lucy! You're part of Fairy Tail. You're not alone."

He could see how her eyes glistened with tears, but he also saw the way she smiled brightly at him, letting out a laugh that sounding somewhat like a sob and the way she gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, Natsu. You're right."

"I'm always right."

"Don't let your ego get too big."

"Aw, come on, Lucy! Let me have this."

"Shut up. I'm going to wake the girls up."

Natsu's eyes widened in terror and he leaped forward, snatching her wrist before she could walk away. Her gasp was audible as she turned to face him, their faces mere centimeters apart, and her cheeks burned a dark pink. "Wha-What are you doing?"

" _Lucy_ ," he spoke quietly. "You can't."

She gulped, not entirely sure of how she felt about the extremely close proximity. "Can't what?"

"You can't wake _Erza_ up!" Seconds later, he was eating snow, a lump already forming on the top of his head.

"I can do whatever I want!" she shouted over her shoulder, face still hot.

* * *

 **A/N: Here you go! Chapter 13! Some of you guessed that Lucy would push Plue in between them, haha. I debated between Lucy grabbing Plue or Gray, but I opted for the former. :)**

 **Anyways, hope you guys liked it!**

 **Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, faves, and follows! You're the best! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Hey, Lucy!"

Lucy halted her movements, tensing up. Only a towel was wrapped around her body, barely covering parts she would appreciate keeping private. In a moment's notice, her hand was wrapped around the metal trash bin and she was chucking it at Natsu, hitting him directly in the face. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Ow," Natsu groaned weakly, sitting up from where he had fallen onto her floor. "I came to see if you wanted to go see that new movie with me tonight… starts in two hours… at the theater in town..." Suddenly, he snapped up, excitement in his eyes. "I heard it has lots of explosions and fights!"

"Just your kind of movie, huh?" Lucy said flatly, sweat-dropping. Then she composed herself, shaking her head. "I can't. I have a date tonight."

It was true. In fact, that morning Rhys has sent her a text asking her out. The plans were to go to a fancy restaurant and then somewhere else afterwards, but the second destination was a _surprise_. She had spent all day wondering what to wear, how to do her hair - common things, really. Now the sun had set and he would arrive in less than thirty minutes.

" _Man_ ," Natsu pouted, scratching Happy behind the ears. "I think you'd really like it."

"Maybe next time," Lucy sighed nonchalantly, only paying a little bit of attention as she sifted through her closet. "I need to change." After a moment, her gaze drifted to Natsu, who was still on her bed, his gaze focused on Happy. _Clueless._

Deciding to just leave him be, she disappeared into the bathroom, returning over ten minutes later wearing a blue blouse, a black mini skirt, and matching heels. Her hair was lightly curled and she wore minimal makeup on her face, but still enough that Natsu noticed it.

"I don't get why you get all dressed up," he pointed out, eyebrows scrunched together like he was thinking.

"What?" Lucy peeked over her shoulder at him, an eyebrow raised.

"It's a date, right? So that means like… he likes you, right?" At this, Lucy nodded hesitantly. "If he likes you, you shouldn't have to dress up just to impress him."

Lucy's face softened and she smiled at him, clasping her hands together. He might've been a bit dense, but what he said was actually very endearing, in her opinion - even if he didn't realize it. "Thanks, Natsu." At that moment, the doorbell rang, signalling that her date had, in fact, arrived at his promised hour.

"Is that your date?" Natsu questioned, arms folded in front of his chest. "I wanna meet him, see if he's-"

"No, no, no." Lucy held her arms in a 'x' shape in front of her, shaking her head wildly, curls bouncing. " _You_ are going to leave. I'm sorry I can't go to the movie. We have the rest of break to hang out, though."

"O~ _kay_ ," Natsu drawled dubiously, perching in the windowsill. "Have fun on your date!"

Her eyes followed him out the window before she walked over to close it, giving herself one last glance in the mirror. She had to admit that she looked pretty fantastic.

Then she was meandering over to her bookshelf, knowing that Valerie or Annette would let Rhys in and offer him some tea, keeping him company until she descended the stairs. Fingers teasing the spines of every work on the row, she did not stop the movements until they reached a particular cook cover; _Twelve Knights of the Zodiac._ It did not stand out amongst the others, a thick blue hardcover inscribed with golden letters, but it was perhaps the one book to most frequently be taken off the shelf.

The book opened and rather than words, she was greeted by blank places, a hole cut into the middle to house a small brown box. She opened the box as well, her fingertips lightly brushing against the cool metal of one of the ten golden keys she guarded.

 _Just two more,_ she thought hopefully, though the dismay was written all over her features. The day before, when she saw completely alone at home, a man in a black suit appeared on her doorstep, presenting her with her tenth golden key - the key of the goat, Capricorn - after asking her name. He left without another word. _But for what? Mom, why did you give these to me?_

"Miss Lucy," Annette's voice came from the outside of the bedroom, startling Lucy. The book slammed shut along with the box, and it was returned to its rightful place before Annette could open the door. "Your date has arrived." Annette practically had hearts in her eyes, swooning with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Are you okay?" Lucy questioned, sweat-dropping again.

"Oh, I'm fine! I just can't believe the young mistress is having her first date!" Annette almost squealed.

Cue more sweat-dropping. "I-It's not that big a deal, Annette…" Lucy assured slowly, reaching a hand out for the housekeeper.

"The young lady I once knew is now a woman!"

Tears built in the woman's green eyes and Lucy sighed heavily, trudging out into the hall and casting a backwards stare at her room. Finally Annette realized that her mistress had already exited and she hurried to catch up, walking quickly down the stairs with Lucy somehow now in tow.

Once the sound of her heels echoed in the foyer, her brown eyes met with Rhys's blue ones. "Wow," he breathed out. "You look amazing."

He was one to talk. Dressed up just as much as she, he donned a black suit, his red tie sticking out amongst all else, and his brown hair was combed rather nicely. If anything, he looked like a completely different person from the pizza boy who had come to her home at nearly eleven at night. She had thought he was cute then, but now… he looked _hot_.

Then she realized she was staring and her cheeks burned red. "You do too," she replied, smiling graciously at him.

He offered her an arm, which she accepted. Rhy was warm, but not nearly as warm as…

Eyes widening the slightest bit, she suppressed those thoughts. _Why am I thinking of him at a time like this?_ Even in her mind, her voice sounded exasperated. _This is your first date, Lucy. Focus!_

"Have her home by eleven," Valerie demanded, fire burning in her eyes. Even though she was shorter than Rhys, her authority made her seem to loom over him threateningly and Lucy wanted to laugh at the fearful look in his eyes. "If she walks through that door at even eleven-o-one, you'll be sorry."

"That's enough, Valerie," Lucy laughed nervously, silently praying for Rhys that they made it back _before_ eleven.

"Have fun, you two!" Annette called after them, still lost in her fantasy land.

"Not too much fun…" grumbled Valerie from the right of the redheaded maid.

The restaurant he made reservations for was absolutely stellar. Fairy lights hung overhead, giving the table a soft glow, and there outdoor dining area was surrounded by trees, disallowing the guests to see anything aside from the starry sky above. Lucy's eyes sparkled even as she sat down.

"So, tell me more about yourself," Rhys prodded, hands folded politely in his lap.

"Well, what do you wanna know?" Lucy countered, both hands cupping her face as she eyed him across the table.

"I don't know… everything. Tell me what you like, about your family…" he trailed off, offering only two suggestions.

"I like to stargaze," she admitted, remembering all the night skies under which she and her mother lay, tracing constellations with their fingers. "And I write. I want to be an author."

"An author?" he asked, almost seeming baffled. "That's… surprising."

"How so?" An eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"I didn't expect it, is all," he tried to assure, though she knew it was only part of the truth. "You're full of surprises. It's nice."

"Thank you," she nodded. "What job do you want to have?"

"I want to be a doctor." He tilted his head back, looking up. "Both of my parents are doctors and I always thought it was the coolest thing."

She smiled. Throughout the entire dinner she kept smiling. Slowly they learned things about each other, opening up more and more as they went, and she found herself really liking him - or at least, the idea of him. He was smart and cool, and obviously he had a romantic side to him. He was dreamy.

That was it. _Dreamy_. He was someone she would have dreamt about, and she could even see herself with him, but for some reason, it all felt wrong.

"So, if your career as an author doesn't work out, what do you plan to do?" he inquired, suddenly rewinding the conversation. "Naturally, you'll inherit a large sum of money either way, but would you ever consider taking over the company after your father?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I… I don't think so. Even if I don't make it big as a successful writer, I'd wanna find something I enjoy doing."

"What would become of Heartfilia Konzern then?" he pried further.

"Beats me," she fired back, ensuring that her tone was extra nonchalant. "My father will probably run it for the rest of his life, anyway."

"I see."

A silence draped over their table and they ate without speaking, a newfound tension pulling at Lucy's skin. Something was definitely wrong; perhaps there was nothing wrong with him, but something felt very wrong about them being on a date. She wanted to leave.

When the check did come, Lucy pulled out two hundred-dollar bills, placing them down before Rhys had the chance to even open his wallet. "I had a really nice dinner," she nodded, a regretful look on her face. "And you're a nice guy, but I don't think I'll be seeing part two of this date."

"Wait, Lucy, what-"

"Sorry!"

* * *

"Wendy! We need something for the nose!" Lucy called out, gloved hands patting down the snowman to ensure it wouldn't fall apart.

"Got it!" the blue-haired girl dashed through the snow, holding up a carrot Mira had let her steal from the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Mira and Cana sat a little ways away on a bench, watching their clubmates play in the snow like children.

"I still can't believe Lucy ditched her date to hang out with Natsu," Cana smirked, shaking her head. "If I'd have known she would do that, I would've saved her the trouble and taken the pizza boy for myself."

"She and Natsu have a connection," Mira sighed in a daze. "Plus, Rhys had been asking all sorts of questions about her father's business, and we all know how she feels about that."

Cana nodded, humming her agreement and taking a swig of beer. "Yeah."

"Okay, Wendy! I think we're done!" Lucy grinned proudly as she wrapped her black scarf around the snowman's neck. Taking a step back, Lucy admired her work, hands planted on her hips.

Then, suddenly, something freezing pelted her in the back of the head, water seeping through her hair and down her spine, chilling her to the bone. As she turned to shout at a certain somebody, another snowball hit her in the face. She swore her anger was what melted the thing off of her.

Natsu giggled like a child from far away. He had no time to move before her snowball hit him between the eyes, exploded in a cloud of water and powder. They both threw and dodged, and finally, Natsu shot one at her as hard as he could - but she ducked out of the way and Gajeel ended up getting a mouthful of snow.

"You want a piece of me, Flame Brain?!" the boy shouted, forming a snowball nearly the size of his head. It headed for Natsu hard and fast, but at the last second, Natsu jumped out of the way, allowing the white ball of terror to hit an unassuming Romeo.

An all-out war began. Lucy led the first team, consisting of Gajeel, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Laxus and his pals, and Levy. Meanwhile, Natsu captained the other team: Mira, Elfman, Lisanna, Romeo, Jet, Droy, Cana (who really just hid behind a snow-wall and drank), and Juvia.

On one side, Lucy's team huddled around. "Laxus, I want you, Ever, Freed, and Bixlow to circle around to the right and attack with all you've got. Wendy, you, Gajeel, and Levy are on the left. Erza, Gray, and I will attack them head on. Got it?"

Everybody nodded.

On the opposing side, Natsu's team did the same. "Okay guys!" Natsu exclaimed. "Just throw as many snowballs as you can and take 'em out!"

"Shouldn't we come up with a strategy?" Lisanna questioned, sweat-dropping.

"That's always his strategy," Cana snorted.

In the end, a proper strategy and the motivation to grind Natsu to dust won.

* * *

"Those two are adorable," Mira gushed to Erza and Cana, her chin resting in her palm as she allowed her gaze to drift to a certain duo. "They're definitely meant to be!"

Not too far away, Lucy and Natsu sat on a chair built for one, both sound asleep. She even managed to sleep through Natsu's snoring in her ear. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and a blanket covered the both of their legs, but that was not what made Mira grin devilishly. It was the fact that Natsu's prized scarf wrapped around not only his neck, but Lucy's neck as well, essentially tethering them to one another.

"They sure have developed strong bond in such a short time," Erza agreed, glancing over her shoulder at them. Quickly she snapped a picture, saving it to her gallery.

"He even trained her," Mira swooned, holding a hand to her chest. "I wonder if those training sessions ever turned into something ho-"

"I don't think so," Cana shrugged, sipping her drink. "As happy as that would make this gal, Natsu's too dense to make a move like that, and Lucy still hasn't had her first kiss, so there's that, too."

"You're right," the white-haired girl frowned. "I think they like each other and they don't even know it!"

"I guess we'll see," Erza nodded. "Natsu-"

" _A~choo!_ "

"Gross!" Lucy pushed Natsu off the chair, momentarily forgetting that the scarf was around her neck as well before she got pulled down to the wooden floor next to him. " _Ow_."

"Who was talking about me?" Natsu shouted, jumping to his feet, unintentionally pulling Lucy with him.

The blonde looked thoroughly confused as she blinked at him and then around the club hall, realizing that she had fallen asleep. Her hair was rumpled and her eyes were glossed over, cheeks still reddened by the bitter winter. Then all at once, she fully came to, untangling the scarf from around her neck and tossing the loose end at Natsu.

"Watch where you're sneezing!" she ordered, hands on her hips.

"Huh?" He looked at her. "Oh, you're awake!"

Lucy face-palmed, shaking her head. "He didn't even hear me," she muttered.

"Lucy, didn't you say you needed to go grocery shopping today?" Natsu questioned, rubbing his head thoughtfully, trying to remember if she had actually said such a thing.

"Yes, because _someone_ and his cat keep eating all my food," she sighed.

"Let's go then!" He grabbed her around the wrist and ran out the door, ignoring her protests and wailing.

"They're hopeless," Cana snorted. The other two nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short! It's a filler chapter! Next chapter will probably be the fight against Grimoire Heart, with the two-on-twos and five-on-fives! Also, you'll see some of that partner project come up with Gray & Lucy, haha. :)**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who reads/reviews/faves/follows! You're the coolest! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"I'm glad we're finally working on our project," Lucy smiled at Gray, and then sweat-dropped, "but I don't understand why everybody has to do their projects at my house."

Not only had Gray shown up at her doorstep that Friday after school, but Natsu, Gajeel, Levy, and Erza had all filed in behind him without a word of explanation. Currently, Erza and Levy were scribbling down notes and drawing concept art for their presentations, while Natsu and Gajeel bickered loudly on the other side of the room. They even picked up expensive chairs and prepared to throw them at each other, but once the cousins realized they were under the vicious Heartfilia glare, they settled down.

Lucy's father had returned home the weekend before and the school week following made Lucy's life a living hell. Not only did she have hours of homework every night, but her father forced her to attend three different business dinners before he left again for the weekend. The "eligible suitors," as Jude had referred to them, were all thick-headed numbskulls who had no interest in anything apart from Heartfilia Konzern and her appearance.

Once while her father was home, Natsu had sneaked into her room through the window as he usually did, but Lucy could have sworn she nearly had a heart attack. At first, she sat on her bed with him, working on homework in silence, but then someone knocked on her door. Still, she did not think much of it - it was probably one of the maids.

Then her father's voice came from the other side of the door and her soul nearly left her body then and there. Only able to stammer out a "h-hold on, I'm getting dressed!" before shoving Natsu under her bed, she let her father know that she was fully clothed. He had walked in, dressed in a suit as usual, and raised an eyebrow at her clothing choice; a turtleneck and a miniskirt.

He proceeded to discuss with her his newest business partner and the man's son, but Lucy could hardly focus knowing Natsu could slip up and speak at any moment. She nodded her head when Jude informed her that he would be travelling to the next city over for the weekend, and visibly slumped over in relief when he left.

Yes, thinking back on it now, it had been a close call.

"Well," Gray shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Natsu over there wanted to come see you and everyone else just came along."

"Okay," Lucy huffed. It was sufficient enough. "So, Macao gave us pretty much free reign over this project."

"He does that a lot," Gray stated, the look in his eyes letting her know that his past projects must have been bad experiences. "So, I-"

"I can't do this!" Natsu burst, chucking a hardcover textbook right at Gajeel's face. He whipped around then, his pointer finger extended towards Gray. "Gray, switch partners with me!"

"No way in hell," Gray refused, leaning back on his elbows. "I'm not partnering up with metalhead over there."

"You wanna go?" Gajeel shouted.

"That's not fair!" Natsu argued, crossing his arms.

"Natsu…" Lucy spoke, eyebrows furrowing.

"You're _my_ partner, so why do you have to work with Gray?"

In spite of the childishness he was displaying, Lucy smiled slightly, strolling over and squatting next to him. "Gray and I are partners because it's what we have to do for this project," she explained, even though he clearly already knew that. "But I'll always be your partner, alright?"

"Okay, yeah!" Natsu grinned after a moment.

Lucy sighed in relief, returning to her spot next to Gray.

"I've already taken notes from the textbook here." Following her words, she placed the stack of paper in front of them, all of the information scrawled in pen. "He wanted us to focus on one of the topics of astrophysics, right? I think optical astronomy would be the way to go."

Apparently, Gray agreed, and soon enough they were leaning over Lucy's notebook, pencils in hand as they drew different designs for projects they had in mind. Both of them wanted to do something more visual because it would mean less information, and they finished their concept in no time.

"This is gonna be great!" Lucy exclaimed, a smile on her face as she clapped her hands together.

"We're gonna have the best project in the class," Gray smirked.

Lucy's face fell. "Gray… your clothes are gone."

"Alright! It's time to go!" Natsu cheered excitedly, leaping to his feet. "Everybody, the match starts in half an hour! Let's go!"

Another thing Lucy had done throughout the school week was train very intensely with Natsu. Her schedule was to wake up, go to school, train with Natsu, do homework, take a shower, go to sleep, and repeat. Every day they spent three or more hours training, and he had worked her even harder than before. "Pure torture," she had groaned to Mira, and at the time, it had been the truth. Now, though, she felt more confident in her combat abilities, thanks to a certain pink-haired friend of hers.

"You coming, Lucy?" The voice brought her out of her thoughts and she nodded, smiling brightly up at Natsu.

"Yeah!"

* * *

A pit of anxiety dwelled deep in Lucy's heart. The other team was intimidating, to say the least. Everybody looked so sure of themselves except for Wendy and herself, who were both sitting close to each other off to the side with wide eyes. One of the few things that reassured her was the fact that the competition was being held at Fairy Tail Academy, so the solace of being in a familiar place was very welcomed.

"Lucy, do you think we're gonna win?" Wendy's voice squeaked, showing how uneasy she felt.

At Wendy's words, Lucy could only grin, giving a thumbs up. "Of course we are!" She had to act confident, at least, to make the younger girl feel better.

"First up, Levy and Gajeel of Fairy Tail versus Yomazu and Kawazu of Grimoire Heart! _Cool_!" the announcer declared, his voice riddled with excitement. At this, Lucy's brow quirked; they must have swapped hosts.

Levy and Gajeel took their places on the mat, and Lucy almost snorted at the contrast. Levy - sweet, short, intelligent, and bright in every aspect of the word - was fighting alongside Gajeel - dark, tall, grumpy, and his appearance practically screaming danger. They were a peculiar duo, she had to admit.

The referee blew his whistle and strode quickly to the sidelines, Levy barely missing him as she darted towards her opponents. Gajeel stood back, arms crossed, appearing completely comfortable with staying put.

Lucy understood a moment later. Levy slid past one of their opponents, swinging her leg in a roundhouse kick so that Yomazu flew across the mat, straight into Gajeel's extended fist. Kawazu took the opportunity to hit Levy to the ground, but before he could do much more damage, Gajeel literally threw Yomazu into him, knocking both of them cleanly off the mat.

The crowd cheered.

The fight was short-lived but it was _awesome_. Maybe Grimoire Heart was not as tough as Lucy thought they were.

"Yeah!" Lucy cheered, rising from her seat and bounding over to greet Gajeel and Levy. She looked so happy, brown eyes sparkling as she admired the pair. "That was amazing! You finished it in no time!"

"Thanks, Lu!" Levy smiled, rubbing the back of her neck.

Gajeel grunted his thanks.

"That was _cool_!" came the announcer's voice again. "Next up we've got Gray and Juvia against Ultear and Meredy!"

Lucy's fingers toyed with the end of her braid in anticipation.

Juvia moved first, but Gray followed closely behind. Juvia landed a punch on Meredy, though the girl held her ground. Gray's fist plummeted towards Ultear's face, but she said something that caused him to falter, his own eyes widening. She took the opening to strike him in the gut, sending him onto his back on the ground.

"Gray-sama!" called Juvia, worry showing in her eyes.

Meredy launched forward, tackling Juvia to the ground. They rolled a few times before coming to a stop, Meredy on top with her hands on Juvia's arms.

Gray pushed Meredy off of Juvia before the countdown reached even five; then he was pulling the blue-haired girl to her feet, standing back-to-back with her so either of them were facing their opponents.

They lurched at the same time.

Juvia fought Meredy even harder than before, talking about how her feelings for Gray gave her strength as dodged the attacks sent her way. At some point, Meredy's foot soared through the air, but Juvia was able to deflect the kick in the nick of time, instead grabbing the front of Meredy's shirt, tossing her towards the edge of the mat. Meredy grasped onto Juvia's shirt as well so that both of them ended up sprawled in a mess of limbs on the sidelines, a good two meters away from the mat.

"Juvia and Meredy take each other out!" squealed the host, his eyes wide.

Lucy's heart throbbed rapidly.

Gray and Ultear were left on the mat, each glowering ferociously. Apparently whatever words they had exchanged manage to enrage the both of them; it was evident in the way Ultear's eyes flashed and Gray's fists clenched. Then they were at each other, their emotions only intensifying the fight. Ultear punched Gray in the jaw and then her hands tangled in the back of his hair, bringing his face down to meet her knee.

Lucy cringed.

When he stood up again, his lip was busted and his nose bloody, but he seemed almost unfazed by it as he wiped the liquid away with the back of his hand. Propelling himself forward with one foot, his open palm smack against Ultear's sternum. The force sent her stumbling back and she had no time to even react before Gray punched her in the stomach.

A shout of pain passed through Ultear's lips, and Lucy bit her lip. _Anything goes, even if this is a school event,_ she thought. _That's why we have to sign those forms. These fights can get as intense as they want and the ref can't stop it until someone goes unconscious._

"C'mon, Ice Princess!" Natsu shouted, leaning forward slightly.

"You can do it, Gray!" Erza encouraged him as well.

Ultear released an angry yell, her heel smashing against Gray's chest, knocking the breath from him. Even though he was gasping for air, he still elbowed her in the torso hard enough that she collapsed to the ground. He pinned her down, but she wiggled a single hand out of his grip, pushing him so they rolled towards the edge and she was on top, and she threw a punch, then another, and another, until his hands caught hers.

With a forceful shove, Ultear was in the air for but a moment. Then she was crashing to the ground around the mat.

"Gray and Juvia are the winners! What a _cool_ match!"

Gray stumbled off the mat, a hand holding his jaw, and he almost tripped.

Lucy was next to him, providing a bottle of water and a bag of ice, a hand on his shoulder as she led him to the sidelines. "You did well."

"Yeah," he nodded, something else clearly on his mind.

"Third round is Natsu and Lucy fighting Kain and Zancrow!" the host announced, and Lucy glanced at Gray once more before jogging to the mat.

Natsu stood next to her, a smirk on his lips, and the anxious feeling from earlier returned to her chest upon viewing their opponents.

One of them, Kain, was humongous. He towered well over Natsu's height, let alone her own, and his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in years. If she had to say one thing about him, he reminded her of an unhygienic sumowrestler. Zancrow was short and less bulky, but his piercing red eyes and long blonde hair did nothing to make him appear any less threatening.

The alarm must have been displayed on her face because Natsu nudged her and grinned. "We've got this, so don't worry!" he assured. It helped to calm her nerves a bit - but only a bit.

The referee blew his whistle and hurried out of there faster than ever; he must've known Natsu's violent tendencies well.

Natsu sprinted toward their adversaries with determination and Lucy lingered a moment, watching his moves, before following after him. In spite of Lucy's internal hope for Natsu to take on the brute, he headed straight for Zancrow, practically baring his teeth, which left Lucy with…

A shadow covered her and she nearly shrieked, craning her neck to meet Kain's eyes. Her gaze hardened into a fierce glare, and much to her pleasure, he shrank backwards.

"Don't think that just because you're giving me that really scary look I'll go easy on you," he warned hesitantly.

Her glare intensified and her feet spread apart. "Bring it on."

He swung a fist at her head and she barely dodged it, opting to hit him as hard as she could in the gut. The attack had little effect and it even caused her hand to ache. She and Kain stared at each other for a moment.

"Wha-?!" she yelped, pivoting on her heel and running away from him.

Kain followed, his heavy footsteps sounding throughout the gymnasium. "Stop running!" he demanded.

"No way!" squealed Lucy back to him. He was close behind her, actually keeping up. "How are you so light on your feet?"

Natsu, on the other side of the mat, was practically butting heads with Zancrow. Both men were thoughtlessly throwing punches and kicks, and they were both equally as beaten. _We're matched?!_ Natsu glared at the blonde male, his fingers clenching into a fist. _No way._

"C'mere, Blondie!" Kain hollered.

Finally, Lucy gave in, whirling around on one leg and kicking high into the air, her foot colliding with his cheek as he bent forward to grab her. Luckily, that seemed to do more than her punches, forcing him to stumble backwards.

Anger and indignance shone on his face. "You can forget about asking me out after that!"

"I think I can handle it!" she snorted, feigning a punch before quickly launching her foot in the air once more.

To her horror, his large hand grasped her ankle, and he effortlessly threw her to the ground. She planted her hands against the ground, loose locks of hair falling around her face as she clenched her eyes shut. _I can't lose. I have to-_

All thoughts were cut off when Kain slammed his foot down onto the middle of her back, a cry of pain bubbling up from her throat. Her fists clenched and she tried to rise again, only to have the same results.

Natsu heard her. He looked up from where he had pinned Zancrow down and his eyes widened. Lucy was being pounded into the ground by the tubby guy, his foot crushing her again and again, and then Natsu was leaping off of Zancrow, ready to intervene.

Zancrow had other plans. His fingers hooked around Natsu's leg, causing the pink-haired boy to faceplant onto the blue mat, nearly busting his lip open. The blonde man crawled on top of him, grabbing a fistful of his hair. "I'm your opponent."

Natsu struggled, but it was to no avail. He could only watch.

Lucy finally rolled out of the way, a gasp passing through her lips as she finally regained her breath. Slowly, ever so slowly, she rose to her feet, her legs shaky, one of her arms shielding her abdomen. Then she moved forward, her foot flying straight up and hitting Kain in the chin so vigorously that he was lifted off the ground, landing roughly on his back.

Her shoulders heaved with every breath, and even though her bangs covered her face, Natsu could see her furrowed eyebrows and sharp stare.

Kain didn't move.

With a smile, she turned to Natsu and he almost smiled back.

 _Almost_.

A darkness loomed over Lucy and the smile fell from her face, her eyes widening and he could see the pure dread on her face. Their clubmates yelled at her, warning her of what she already knew was there, but she stayed where she was, keeping her stare tethered to Natsu's.

Her name left his lips in a shout as Kain's open palm smacked her to the side. She cried out again as she hit the ground, her braid coming fully undone when she rolled.

"Get off of me!" Natsu roared, thrashing underneath Zancrow. He shoved the blonde aside, landing a punch to his face as they both stood to their feet.

Kain kicked Lucy across the mat, almost knocking her off, but she put a hand out to stop herself, her fingertips inches away from the solid floor. Her arms trembled as she forced herself to sit up, pain seeping into every part of her body. _I can't do this. He's too strong._

Out of nowhere, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to her feet. Natsu stood there, glaring at Cain, and she realized that Zancrow was sulking _off_ the mat.

"Hey Lucy, you alright?" Natsu questioned.

"Yeah," she nodded, a small smile on her face.

He beamed. "You up for trying out that move we practiced?"

Lucy's eyes widened. She had no idea how well she could even stand, let alone fight, but seeing the confident expression on his face allowed some reassurance to flood her veins. "Okay!"

"Stop being lovey-dovey!" Kain bellowed.

"We're not!" the pair snapped.

Only for a minute would she need to suppress her pain - then she could collapse, groan, cry, and do whatever she wanted in response.

Natsu ran ahead of her, but she followed closely behind, eyes on his back, waiting. Kain watched them in confusion, clearly not understanding their plan. Then Natsu fell to his knees, kneeling on the ground, but Lucy kept running. Stepping onto her partner's back, she launched herself into the air, and for a moment, she felt like she was flying. Her body twisted and whirled around once, gaining momentum for the kick that sent Kain flying off of the mat.

Arms caught Lucy from behind, steadying her on her feet, and she blew out a breath of air, smiling.

She would have believed that every Fairy Tail student cheered, but really, she couldn't be sure; they were deafeningly loud, even if all of them weren't exulting joyously.

"It's another win for Fairy Tail!"

Natsu walked Lucy to the sidelines and helped her sit next to Gray.

"You were awesome out there!" her teammate exclaimed, dark eyes wide and a fiery grin melting onto his face.

"I bet I feel just as awesome," she nodded sourly.

Gray offered her the ice she had given to him earlier, and she accepted it gratefully, placing the bag against her back. "You guys really do make a great team," Gray pointed out.

"Natsu!" a masculine voice called out, rousing the attention of all three clubmates. A redheaded man walked over, his face clad with scruff and a smirk on his lips.

"Gildarts!" Natsu and Gray exclaimed at the same time.

Lucy appeared confused.

"Gildarts is Cana's dad, but we've known him since we were kids," Gray explained shortly, earning a nod of understanding from the blonde.

"That was an intense fight," Gildarts said, though the pride was clear in his actions as he ruffled Natsu's hair. "You alright, kiddo?"

"I'm still fired up!" Natsu grinned before hooking an arm around Lucy's shoulders. "This is Lucy, our newest member!"

Lucy let out a small, senseless whine as her back protested against his careless jostling, though she still smiled genuinely. "Nice to meet you!"

"You sure took a beating out there," Gildarts mused, eyebrows raising.

"My spine agrees," Lucy sighed sadly, shoulders slumping.

"It was still awesome though," Gray pitched in, nudging Lucy.

"Especially when you jumped off Natsu!" Gildarts exploded, and suddenly Lucy saw a similarity between the man and her partner. "That guy didn't stand a chance!"

"Thanks, you guys," Lucy said, laughing slightly. "I owe it to Natsu, though. He's the one who made me a better fighter."

"He trained you?" Gildarts questioned, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. When Lucy nodded, his eyes widened and he grabbed Natsu by the shirt, dragging him practically across the gym.

"Idiots," Gray muttered from next to her.

She cracked a smile. "Gotta love 'em."

"Now it's time for Mira and Lisanna against Rustyrose and Zoldeo! _Cooool_!" The pair was only giving half of their attention to the match that commenced.

"Are you okay, though?"

Her eyes met his and he actually looked concerned, so she beamed and nodded. "I'm gonna be bruised tomorrow, but nothing I can't handle!"

He grinned as well. "You're weird, you know that?" Her smile faltered, so he continued. "You're tough, through and through, and it seems like you've been a part of us for a lot longer than a month."

"It feels like it," she hummed, pulling the ice around and setting it on the bench between them. "It's kinda scary."

"Scary?" Now he was the confused one.

"You guys are my family," she pointed out quietly, though her voice was still audible above the cheers of the crowd. Her eyes found Mira, who looked very angry, before dropping to the ground again. "Last time I had a family, everyone left me."

He surprised her by pulling her in for a one-armed hug, laughing a little. "Don't worry about it, Lucy. We're not gonna be leaving anytime soon."

"Thanks, Gray," she nodded, tentatively pushing herself away from him, "but we're both really sweaty."

"Oh, does-" Gray stopped talking when Natsu shuffled over, his face as red as Erza's hair as he took his seat next to Lucy. "What happened to you?"

"What did Gildarts say?" Lucy inquired, seeing the man in question talking to Cana, his daughter, since she was fighting next.

"Nothing," Natsu grumbled, his face reddening even more. "Stupid old perv."

Lucy sighed, shrugging. Her back hurt and she was sandwiched in between two sweaty boys, which helped her case none. "I'm going to get a drink," she announced, wobbling slightly when she stood. Two pairs of hands shot out to steady her, but she waved them off, rolling her eyes. "I'm fine!"

That was a little less than true. Pain shot through her back with every step she took and she had to use all of her willpower not to double over, but eventually, she made it back to the prep rooms.

In front of the mirror, she twisted slightly so that she could see her back, and a nasty bruise had already developed, disappear under the back of her bra and peeking out a little bit on her upper back. She would take a bath and wrap it when she returned home, she decided, rubbing it tenderly.

As she said she would, she snatched a water bottle up as she walked into the empty hallway, sipping it slowly and taking her time walking. About halfway to the gym, she got the eerie feeling that someone was watching her, so she whirled around, eyes finding the figure standing in the middle of the brightly lit corridor. It was the same man whom she had seen the day she went Christmas shopping with Natsu, she noticed, and his dark eyes were looking directly at her.

"Who are you?" she questioned, hands clenching into fists. Her heart thudded loudly.

Instead of answering, he turned and began walking, disappearing around a corner.

Lucy raced after him, stopping and glaring down the hallway, only to find nobody there. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled and she turned around, nearly screaming when she bumped into someone.

"What're you doing? You've been gone for twenty minutes," Natsu said. "We're up again soon!"

 _Twenty minutes? It's been that long?_ Lucy glanced over her shoulder, shaking her head. "Nothing, I just… thought I saw something."

"Let's go then!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

She struggled to keep up, constantly stumbling over her feet, though they soon broke through the gymnasium doors. Just as they did, the announcement was made:

"After that short break, we're ready to start the five-on-five matches! First up is Team Natsu Dragneel versus Team Bluenote Stinger! This is the _coolest_!"

Lucy huffed, allowing Natsu to drag her onto the mat and leaning against his arm for support when they stopped. Erza, Gray, and Wendy were already standing there, glowering fiercely as the other team approached. Lucy was disappointed that she had missed Erza and Cana's match, and judging by how beat up the redhead looked, it was a tough one. Really, everybody on the team was littered with bruises apart from Wendy, who was hadn't participated in the two-on-two matches. Gray and Erza were using each other for support like she was doing to Natsu. The thought crossed her mind that none of them might not be able to fight well, but then she remembered what both Levy and Natsu had told her. _If we can stand, we can fight._

Her expression became guarded as the opposing team lined up. Kain was on the team, along with Ultear, Meredy, and two other men - Bluenote was one, she guessed, and the other must have been Azuma, judging by Erza's face.

Both teams looked beaten (and admittedly, Lucy felt smugly proud of the red footprint that stood out on Kain's face).

"Alright, everybody! The rules for this kind of match are simple! Anyone who leaves the mat is out! Anyone who gets pinned down without being able to fight back for more than ten seconds is out! Anyone who gets knocked out is out! The match lasts for fifteen minutes. If competitors are still in the match at the end, whichever team has the most players left wins! Let's get ready! This is gonna be cool!"

Something tightened around her hand and she realized Natsu was still holding it.

"We've got this, guys," she stated, standing up straight.

The referee stayed on the sidelines this time, glancing from either side a bit nervously. Then the sound of his whistle pierced the air.

No one moved.

The crowd stayed silent, anticipating, waiting.

Natsu moved.

Cheers and hollers exploded from the stands.

His hand slipped from Lucy's grasp as he ran forward, letting out a yell as his fist collided with Kain's nose. The giant man stumbled backwards, but regained his balance oddly quickly, turning on Natsu with ferocity in his eyes.

Natsu glared just as angrily. His arm reared back once more, sailing through the air and hitting Kain's gut - and, like it had with Lucy, the impact hurt Natsu's hand more than Kain's body. Then Natsu was looking up at Kain as the guy raised an arm above his head, preparing to karate chop Natsu.

" _Hya_!"

Kain surged forward and Natsu barely dodged him as he flew off the mat, sliding across the gym floor on his face for a few seconds. Lucy stood where he had been, breathing heavily and a satisfied smile on her face.

"Watch where you're kicking him!" Natsu complained, rubbing the elbow he had skinned in his desperate escape.

"I was. In the back," she retorted, her tone almost sassy as she crossed her arms and turned away from Natsu.

He grimaced at the blue splotches that contrasted with her skin, but he couldn't dwell on it in the middle of a fight.

"Stop thinking so much!" Lucy ordered, pushing him out of the way of an attack from Bluenote. "You're distracting yourself!"

Natsu nodded numbly, standing next to Lucy. "This guy's mine. You got to kick Kain out!"

"Stop being so possessive!" she protested, her glare sliding over to him.

"It's not fair if you end up getting two people out!" he pointed out childishly.

"Stop acting like a kid!" she snapped. "You're-"

Her words faltered as someone grabbed both she and Natsu by their hair, slamming their heads together roughly and then dropping them. Bluenote stood over them. "Your fight is with me, not each other."

"Ow," Lucy whined, holding her forehead. "Natsu, why do you have to have such a thick skull?! You're such an idiot! I-" Her words were a trick to act as if she wasn't going to attack, he figured out. She kicked Bluenote's ankles and he fell forward. The blonde pushed off the ground, her bare knee lifting as she stood and crashing into her opponent's face, sending him onto his back.

"Hey, I said he was mine!" Natsu shouted, jumping to his feet.

"He's all yours now!" With a shake of her head, Lucy took off towards Wendy, who was fighting Meredy.

Suddenly the pink-haired girl kicked Wendy hard. Lucy ran, arms outstretched. Before Wendy could cross the line between the mat and the floor, Lucy grabbed her around the waist, spinning before crashing onto the ground with Wendy on top of her.

"Thanks, Lucy!" Wendy smiled lazily.

"Go get her," Lucy encouraged, sending Wendy off with a thumbs up.

Lucy herself clambered back onto her feet, stumbling slightly as she made her way around the edge of the mat. Erza clearly had Azuma handled, both of their moves not as coordinated as usual, while Gray-

A shriek left her lips as Gray and Ultear both flew by her off the mat and she started falling backwards, out of bounds, when a hand grabbed hers and pulled her back to her feet.

Erza glanced at her and nodded towards Azuma. "Get ready, Lucy."

"For wha-" she began to ask, but a yell of protest overtook her words when Erza sprinted forward, pulling Lucy with her. _How does she run so fast?!_

Erza punched Azuma in the stomach, clearly a sore spot in the way he doubled over, and Lucy drew in a deep breath. Her foot swung upwards, hitting him in the chin and snapping his jaw closed, the hit having enough momentum to lift the man off of the ground for a few seconds. Erza finished him off with a simple roundhouse kick, effectively knocking him unconscious - and she was courteous enough to drag him to the edge of the mat, out of the way of the fight.

"Who's left?" Erza asked.

"Natsu's got Bluenote and Wendy's handling Meredy. Gray's out," Lucy informed.

"Are you hurt?"

Lucy followed Erza's gaze to where her hand had subconsciously pressed to her back, hot fingers splayed over even hotter flesh. "It hurts," she admitted. "But I'm okay for now."

"Be careful," the other warned, gesturing towards Wendy. "You go help Wendy. I will aid Natsu."

Following Erza's commands (for fear of what would happen if she did not, really), Lucy jogged back over to Wendy, who punched Meredy in the face roughly enough to cause her to fall onto her butt… outside of the mat.

"Looks like you didn't need me, after all," Lucy sighed, partially relieved. "That was good. Nice job, Wendy! I knew there was a reason I wanted you."

Wendy laughed, a bright smile on her lips. "Thank you!"

Just as Lucy and Wendy approached them, Natsu and Erza punched Bluenote at the same time and he was out like a light. Natsu turned and upon seeing Lucy, he gave her a thumbs up, grinning so widely that his eyes closed. She did the same.

"The winner of the first five-on-five is Fairy Tail!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hmm I'm not sure I like the way I wrote this chapter, but I wanted to get it out to you guys! I'm not the best at writing fight scenes and they made up most of this, haha...**

 **But yeah! Gildarts has come into the picture! :) What exactly do you think he said to Natsu? ;)**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Thanks to everyone who reads/reviews/faves/follows! You're the best!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Lucy lay on her bed, eyes on the ceiling as thoughts raced through her mind. Plue was snuggled into her side, providing extra warmth, and her hand slowly scratched up and down his back in a steady, rhythmic pattern, though she did it without thinking. Under her back was a heating pad, soothing the bruises that littered her skin.

She could not care any less about the injuries.

The day before, Lucy had returned home after a successful match, wishing nothing more than to take a much deserved bubble bath and soak in it for as long as possible. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she got to her room, which was trashed beyond belief - even the bed had been turned onto its side. Books were thrown off the shelf and drawers were pulled from the dresser; worst of all, her panties had been thrown carelessly onto the ground as well.

Panic had flooded throughout every crevice of her body. Quickly she had dropped to her knees, nearly in tears as she dug through piles of her belongings in a desperate search for a certain book. Thankfully, _Twelve Knights of the Zodiac_ was left unharmed and unopened, but it was definitely for what the perpetrator had been searching. There was no doubt in her mind. Why else trash just Lucy's room?

For a few minutes, she hugged the precious hardcover to her chest, drawing in and puffing out deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. It was nothing new to her; people tried to break into the Heartfilia Estate all the time, though usually, none of them succeeded. However, never before had her room been the target. Typically it was just left alone.

Then she had pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialing the number of the first person who came to mind. Natsu, Gray, and Erza were over within minutes to find her sitting on her bed, head in her hands as she tried to accept that the keys from her mother had put her at risk. If she had been home, there was no telling what could have happened.

Eventually, after they helped her put her room back together, she convinced the trio to leave her, in spite of their persistent protests. She did not sleep that night.

And she still lay awake on her bed, even though the sun had peeked over the horizon a few hours before.

"Lucy? You awake?" Natsu whisper-yelled from the window, pushing it open even further.

"Even if I was asleep, you would have woken me up," she stated flatly. "Come on in."

Silently, he stepped into her room, closing the window behind him. The bed dipped towards her feet when he climbed on, stretching out opposite of her, his feet resting next to her head. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked finally.

"No," she admitted. "I was thinking all night."

"I didn't either." He surprised her. "I wanted to make sure no one came back."

Much too quickly, Lucy bolted upright, startling both Plue and Happy, who had curled up on Natsu's chest. Her eyes were widened in the slightest as she stared at him, looking so casual with his arms folded behind his head, gaze focused on the ceiling. "Sorry for making you worry," she apologized, cheeks warming slightly.

In less than a moment, he was sitting up, his dark eyes clashing with her warm ones. There was something there, but as soon as she spotted it, it was gone, replaced with a dancing delight and a wide grin. "No problem, Lucy! That's what friends are for, right?"

Unable to suppress her own smile, she nodded. "Right!"

He plopped backwards, releasing an exaggerated yawn and squeezing her ankle a bit. "You should really go to sleep, though. You look awful."

She threw one of her pillows at his face, though she fell backwards herself, eyes drifting shut. "That's not what any girl want to hear, idiot."

"Well, you're not just any girl, are you?" he mocked. "You're _weird_."

The fatigue was getting to her. "Shut up," she mumbled, allowing the world of dreams to swallow her whole.

 _She was standing in a dark corridor, entirely alone. The moonlight cast the only light in the space, tinting everything an eerie blue color. A door stood, tall and sturdy, at the end of the hall, light seeping through the crack under it, appearing inviting._

" _Hello?"_

 _A gasp escaped her. Her voice was high-pitched, sounding exactly as it had when she was younger. Desperately, she whirled around, coming to face a full-length mirror. Palms pressing to the surface, she leaned in until her nose brushed against the cool glass, eyes wide, rimmed red with the memory of fresh tears. Again she was young, nine at the oldest, and her fight-or-flight instincts kicked in._

 _Little legs carried her down the stretch of scarlet carpet and then she was bursting into the brightly lit room, squinting so that she could see._

 _No longer was she of minimal height, but she stood in front of another full-length mirror. A long gown dressed her body, bright and pink, reminding her very much of the same one her mother used to wear._

 _That was when she noticed. It was not herself looking back in the mirror, but rather her mother, looking fresh and healthy - entirely different from her appearance in her last moments. The blonde woman reached out for Lucy, mouthing words that fell unspoken to Lucy's ears until Lucy herself pressed her palm to the glass._

" _Protect the keys, no matter what," Layla spoke calmly._

 _Lucy nodded, biting a lip that threatened to tremble. She had cried enough. "What are they for, Mom?"_

" _You'll figure it out."_

 _A hand clamped down onto Lucy's shoulder and goosebumps rose on her body. It was easy for her to tell that something was wrong, whether by the unrelenting harshness of the hold or by the sensation of dread that originated in her heart and extended to every part of her body. Her worries were confirmed when she craned her neck, meeting the eyes of the same man who had been in the hallway at school and in the crowd in town. His glare was cold._

 _Layla's hand solidified against hers, intertwining their fingers and tugging Lucy into the mirror, transporting her to another room and away from the man._

 _It was her bedroom from the old mansion. She sat at her vanity, playing happily with a doll given to her by her parents as Layla brushed through her hair._

" _I love you," Layla hummed, a light smile on her face._

" _I love you too, Mama!" Lucy chirped involuntarily._

 _Reluctantly, Layla stood, extending her hand for Lucy to accept. "We have guests, Lucy. Be polite. We need to go greet them."_

 _Lucy nodded, grabbing her mother's hand and following her to the door. Once Lucy set foot through the doorframe, she was again in an entirely different room. An extravagant chandelier hung from the ceiling of the ballroom, the crystals causing the light to bounce off the walls in various patterns, making the dancing all the more thrilling._

 _Her eyes settled upon the person who replaced her mother: Natsu. He was dressed up, though the top few buttons of his shirt were undone and his hair was done in its usual spiky fashion. "C'mon, Lucy!"_

 _Suddenly he was maneuvering through the crowd, leading Lucy easily by the hand. "Where are we going?" she questioned, eyebrow raising._

 _Instead of answering, he turned around, eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Where'd she go?"_

" _I'm right-"_

" _Lucy!" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth as an amplifier._

He can't see me _, she thought, running her hands along her outfit - though it was no longer an elegant dress._

 _Now she wore all black - shirt, skirt, and boots - and her hair was tied into a high ponytail, secured with a ribbon as usual. When her head lifted, she was standing in a hallway, Natsu still in front of her, though he could clearly see her now._

" _Lucy!"_

 _Something tugged on her from behind._

" _C'mon, everybody's waiting!"_

 _He reached his hand out for her, a light in all of the darkness. She nodded eagerly, extending her own, but their fingertips barely brushed before she was being forced backwards._

" _Natsu!" she shouted desperately, eyes wide as his figure grew smaller and smaller._

 _Suddenly, glass shattered around her and she was falling. Natsu's head popped out of the window, shock and hopelessness riddling his face, and she kept eye contact with him as she fell._

 _The building was her old home, she recognized. It was the place in which she had grown up; it was the place that held all of the memories she and her mother shared. Rather than the usually bright colors it displayed, even in the dark, though, it was dark and gloomy, an ominous cloud of despair overhanging it._

 _In the sky, the stars sparkled marvelously._

Lucy was pulled out of her dream in a split second, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy, fingertips wrapped tightly around the blankets beneath her. The light that had been pouring in through the window had long since disappeared, replaced with the dark of night.

The stars sparkled marvelously.

Gradually she sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Natsu was no longer in her room, but the faint voices she heard from another part of her house informed her that he had not strayed far. Plue and Happy, though, were still lying next to her, snoozing the hours away. _I wonder when he got up._

Then she remembered. She and Gray were supposed to work on their project together, and she had totally slept through the entire day. _Man, I suck,_ she whined in her head, strolling to her bathroom and grabbing her toothbrush. Quickly she jabbed it into her mouth, hurriedly brushing her teeth while examining herself in the mirror. Not only was her skin sickly blanched, but her whole face was painted with exhaustion. She looked terrible.

 _What was that dream, though?_ In all actuality, she knew that it was something her imagination had conjured up under all of the stress she bore on her shoulders, but it was strange and her heart was still racing. It had felt so real and everything was so vivid that it left her wondering about the secret of the keys. She wanted to know for what they were made.

She always did.

With a sullen slump of her shoulders, Lucy exited her bathroom, switching the lights on and glancing at the bookshelf. It was still there.

"C'mon, Plue," she beckoned, sweeping Happy up into her arms to cradle him like an infant. The cat slept and woke up on his own time, she had learned.

The white fluff ball yipped and trailed next to her as she padded lightly down the hall, her footsteps not causing a single sound. Her walk to the kitchen was uninterrupted; she assumed that the house workers had arrived and left while she was dozing off.

As expected, Natsu was standing in the kitchen, an array of food settled before him as he practically shoveled it all into his mouth. Gray was alongside him, eating nearly as much as he did, while Erza was sitting at the island on one of the bar stools, eating a slice of strawberry cake that Lucy had gotten specifically for her. Even though they were all doing what they usually did, something was off.

Natsu noticed her first.

"Hey, guys," she greeted, setting Happy onto the floor. She gave him a scratch on the head. "Gray, I'm sorry. I completely-"

When she straightened herself up, the life was nearly frightened out of her by Natsu's palms slamming against the wall on either side of his head. Their chests were touching and his hot breath danced over her face every time he exhaled as he scrutinized her. There was a seriousness in his eyes that she had only seen a few times before and it gave her the chills.

Still, she angled her face away slightly, gaze downcast. "T-Too close," she strained lacklusterly.

He gave a huge grin, leaning away and crossing his arms behind his head. "Are you feeling better?" he questioned. The dour look in his eyes was gone, replaced with the usual happygolucky glow, but Lucy was sure it had been there.

It took a moment for the fire in her cheeks to die down. "Yeah, thanks," she nodded weakly, slipping around him and to the fridge. As she opened the metal door and pulled out a yogurt, she glimpsed behind her. "Like I was saying, sorry, Gray. I didn't mean to sleep for so long. You could've woken me up."

"Nah, you deserved your rest," he shrugged off her apology, giving his signature smirk.

"Gray's right, Lucy. You fought well yesterday, and with what happened last night, you needed sleep," Erza concurred, stuffing a bite of cake into her mouth. Then she continued talking with her mouth full. "Your health comes before any academics."

"By the way, Luce, Levy called. She said something about how your first day at the bookshop is tomorrow and to text her for the details," Natsu announced, extending her cell phone towards her. "I answered it so you could sleep."

She accepted the device, setting it on the counter where she always did. "Thanks, Natsu."

The blonde settled on a stool neck to Erza, hunching over her own treat. Even though she hadn't eaten all day, her stomach barely rumbled with hunger, if at all. The only thing she could feel was the pain in her back, which had prolongedly resurfaced once her skin was no longer blessed with the heating pad. Her pain must have been clear on her face, too.

"Did you wrap your injuries?" Erza inquired, shoving the empty plate away from her, where it rested next to a stack of empty plates that must have belonged to Natsu and Gray.

"No, I didn't really think about it," she admitted, sticking a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth.

"Hurry and finish eating, then. I'll wrap them for you," Erza stated, making a point to Lucy that she had no other option than to comply.

As promised, Erza and Lucy left to Lucy's bedroom, where Lucy removed her shirt and Erza began wrapping her torso with bandages.

"It's getting late," Lucy sighed, glancing towards the window. The moon was high in the sky. "Shouldn't you guys be going home soon?"

"We decided to stay the night," Erza declared.

Lucy choked on air. "When did _I_ agree to that?!"

"The boys and I want to ensure that nobody tries anything again," she explained casually, but Lucy's cheeks instantly warmed.

 _They really are worried._ They might not have been showing it, what with the casual manner in which they plundered through her kitchen, but the real reason behind them staying was because they were concerned.

"Okay," Lucy murmured, nodding her head as Erza tied off the wrap. "But _just_ tonight."

Suddenly, she was hoisted up by under her arms, pulled to a standing position. "That's as expected," Erza smiled smally.

* * *

Lucy roused herself to consciousness, unwilling to open her eyes because she knew that the glaring sunlight awaited her. It was shining on her face through the window.

Instead, she found herself drifting back into a state of subconsciousness, comforted by the warmth that enveloped her and soothed the ache in her back.

Her eyes snapped open. Arms encircled her entirely, a hard chest pressed against her back, and her knees were pulled up, almost as if she was curling into herself, and his knees were tucked into the back of hers. Natsu was molded completely against her, bare chest and all, and as flustered as she immediately felt, the unending warmth was cozy and welcoming.

 _How did this even happen?_ she thought, cheeks reddening. Then she reflected back to the previous night.

 _Gray was asleep beside her, Erza on his other side, piled onto their makeshift bed in the living room. Rather than sleeping in her room, since Gray deemed it uncomfortable, they had gathered as many blankets and pillows as possible, putting them all together to make some sort of bed on the living room floor._

 _As snug as it was, Lucy's back still hurt without her heating pad._

 _For an hour, she tossed and turned, until finally, something hot pressed against her back. With a quick glance, she realized that Natsu had moved so that his back pressed to hers, his naturally hot skin almost as soothing as the heating pad would have been._

" _Is that better?" he questioned quietly, too scared to speak any louder for fear of waking Erza up._

" _Yeah," she mumbled, eyes closing._

" _Good. Now stop moving around so I can sleep," he said bluntly._

 _Her muscles began to relax and she nodded, her legs stretching out beneath her. "Thanks," she yawned, her words slurred slightly, "for caring."_

Lucy's face grew even hotter and she grabbed the pillow from under their heads, sitting up and whacking him with it. "Wake up, idiot!" she demanded, hitting him in the face with it. "Get up!"

His grip loosened on her as one of his arms raised to protect his face from her assault, still practically sleeping. Using the seconds she had, she scooted away, stopping when she was practically on the other side of the room. Her cheek were flushed and her heart was pounding. _This is so embarrassing._

Not only did people expect them to date (not that they even liked each other in that way), but they openly voiced their opinions and even betted on when the pair would end up together. The fact that they had ended up in such positions more than once did not help her case - nor did it help that Erza and Levy snapped a photo every single time.

Silently, she dragged herself to the kitchen, walking straight past Erza and Gray.

"Good morning," Gray smirked. "Sleep well?"

"Just fine," she gritted out, pouring herself a cup of orange juice.

"So when's the wedding?"

He barely had time to blink before a stray apple hit him between the eyes, knocking him off the bar stool he sat on.

"There is none!" she shouted. "And even if I was having a wedding with anyone, you wouldn't be invited!" That was a lie, but she was angry.

"Why are you yelling?" Natsu grumbled, trudging into the kitchen and sitting in the seat where Gray had previously been. "It's so early."

"It's eleven," Lucy scoffed. "And also time for you guys to _get out_!"

* * *

Lucy waved to the customer as they left the store, a bright smile on her face. In a rush she had left her house, dressed in a short skirt and turtleneck top, radiating the earth with her positive mood, and all afternoon she had been as chipper as ever.

"What's got you so cheery?" Levy inquired, pausing in her movements to stand in front of the counter. Her arms were piled so high with books that she needed to arch her back to hold them all, but she barely appeared to be straining herself. "You were even nice to that really rude customer an hour ago!"

"I'm just…" she paused, thinking it over. "I'm just happy to have a job, is all - especially with one of my best friends."

It was true. Having a job gave her a feeling of independence that she rarely felt as a Heartfilia heiress and it was so easy to work alongside Levy, surrounding by _literature_ \- something that they both understandably loved.

"Aw, Lu! You're so cute," Levy teased, setting everything she held onto a cart so that she could push it around.

Lucy was not the only one in a brilliant mood.

"And why are _you_ all happy?" Lucy retorted, eyebrows raising as she leaned forward on the counter.

Almost immediately, Levy's face heated up, appearing a shade of red and then she was sputtering in a way Lucy had never been able to elicit from her. "I-uh, um, I-" she stammered, avoiding Lucy's gaze. The blonde inched further forward, expectant, and Levy burst. "Gajeel asked me on a date!"

Lucy squealed. "Really?!"

"Well, he didn't really _ask_ me," the bluenette mused, tapping a finger on her chin. Her normal tone washed over the embarrassed flush once more as she thought back on the experience. "It was more of…" A pause, and then she was lowering her voice, doing a poor impression of the broody male, "'Hey, Shrimp, are you busy Friday night? No? Then you and I are going out.' And so I asked if he meant a date, and he just looked at me and said, 'Did you hit your head or somethin'? Yeah, a date.' And then he left."

The grin that spread across Lucy's face looked as if it might tear the skin, but then she threw her hands in the air, practically dancing. "I was waiting this whole time!" At Levy's confused expression, she elaborated, "I _totally_ knew he was into you! I mean, do you guys see yourselves? And I asked him about you after school on Thursday. Oh boy, you should've seen his face! You guys are _so_ cute!"

She was practically swooning.

"I wish someone would ask me on a date," the blonde sighed dreamily.

"Well, you and Natsu hang out enough to practically _be_ dating," Levy pointed out.

" _Not him_!" Lucy barked, scowling. Her arms crossed as she glared at Levy, thinking back to that morning when she woke up with - her face heated up. "There's nothing like that between us!"

"Okay," Levy nodded, a sly smile on her face as she placed books onto the shelves.

"So," Lucy began, changing the subject, "do you know where you're going for your date?"

"No, Gajeel said he was going to surprise me." Levy looked extremely bummed out; she hated not knowing things. "Knowing him, it'll probably be crazy."

"You'll have to tell me _everything_ ," Lucy stated, smiling in a daze. She could imagine it now: Levy in a cute little dress and Gajeel, hair pulled back and fancied up in a suit, sitting next to each other at a candlelit dinner, leaning in - " _Ahhh!_ Yes, everything! I need to know all the details."

"You got it, Lu…" Levy trailed off, slightly concerned.

"Oh, by the-"

Her voice was cut off by her cell phone ringing. Quickly, she answered the call, not bothering to check for the caller I.D. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lucy."

"Gray?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I'm at work."

"I know, sorry." When he received silence, he continued. "I was wondering if you could stop by my place to work on the project after you finish your shift."

When Gray and the others had slept over the night before, she and he worked on some more different concepts for their project, and eventually they combined their talents and minds to make the best design. All they needed to do was create the actual project.

"I guess so," she shrugged, glancing towards the door as a customer shuffled in. "But I have to go. I'll see you around seven."

* * *

As promised, Lucy showed up on Gray's doorstep at a little past seven, her bookbag slung over her shoulder, a duffel bag in her hand, and an excited glint in her eyes. She had not once before been to Gray's house. Now that she thought about it, everybody was always visiting _her_ home. That would have to change.

"Come on in!" Gray called from somewhere inside.

The door groaned in protest as she pushed it open, peeking her head in first before the rest of her body followed. It was a homely place. With bright lighting and colder colors, it gave off a cool feeling, but somehow she still felt comfortable. The air was chilly, too, she noticed as she slid her jacket off, hanging it on the rack by the door.

"I'm in here!"

Lucy followed his voice to the kitchen, where it was probably the coldest, to see Gray standing in front of a large slab of ice. His shirt had long since been discarded, resting on the far side of the room. The male grinned over his shoulder at her.

"Did you bring everything?"

"Yeah," she nodded surely, setting the duffel bag on the counter. Skeptically she stared at the block of frozen liquid, arms crossing. "Are you _sure_ you can do this?"

"You'll regret doubting me when you see the finished product," he assured confidently, turning his back on her for a moment, whirling back around with a chainsaw in his hand.

"Eek!" she shrieked, jumping away when the blade of the tool swung too close for her to be comfortable. "Watch what you're doing with that, Gr-hey, stop stripping!"

His pants joined his shirt.

The saw began roaring and he was carving away, icy dust practically raining down around them. While Lucy shuffled away, hugging herself, Gray stood there in all of his practically nude glory, ice shards clinging to his skin and melting against his body heat.

 _What a weirdo,_ she snorted. _I'm cold and I'm wearing clothes._

It took nearly twenty minutes until he switched the chainsaw for a pick, chipping away bits and pieces, turning harsh edges into smooth curves, poking little holes in the surface in a seemingly disorganized pattern. However, it was all as planned, and Lucy only gaped.

"Wow!" she gawked, striding forward when he finally stepped back, glancing at every edge of the much smaller ice carving. Upon closer inspection, one could see the intricate designs of the sculpture, and Lucy whirled around, beaming at him. "Now we can use the dye!"

He nodded in agreement, already sifting through the bag she brought when the quick closing of the front door grabbed the attention of either student.

They both tensed, glancing to the doorway and then to each other. "You live alone, don't you?"

Gray only nodded, beckoning for her to follow him into the hallway.

 _Why are we going towards the noise?!_ she whined internally. _Wouldn't it be smarter to escape while we can?_ Nonetheless, she trailed after him, halting when his arm stretched in front of her chest to stop her.

Then he lunged for the intruder.

" _Ah_!" came a familiar shout, followed by a harsh hiss. The blue cat slinked from the shadows over to Lucy, curling around her feet until settling on her shoes - his sign that he wished to be held. With a sigh, she picked him up, holding the feline to her chest as she watched the two boys throw raging punches and furious kicks.

"Guys, stop," she tried weakly, her voice lost in the scuffle. "Quit fighting!" Her foot launched out, slamming into Natsu's chest and sending both him and Gray flying against the wall. "Natsu, what are you doing here?"

"Happy and I came to pull some pranks on Ice Princess here," he grumbled, clearly upset that he was caught red-handed. His eyes found hers and then he was standing, poking a finger at her. "Why are _you_ here?"

"We're working on our project," she huffed, checking the time. "But I think I'm going to call it a night. I still have other homework to do."

"Take Ash for Brains with you," Gray scoffed.

"You wanna fight, ya pervy popsicle?"

"Who ya callin' pervy?!"

"You, ya damn streaker!"

"Bye!" Lucy smiled over her shoulder once she had gathered her things, lifting her hand and waving to the two boys.

"Wait!"

Natsu ended up following her home, in spite of Lucy every so often reminding him that they had school and that he should go home and sleep. Instead, he stayed up, keeping her company as she finished the last of her homework.

"Why don't you go home?" Lucy suggested softly, her nails dragging up and down Happy's back. Finally, she had finished her homework and changed into pajamas for the night

Natsu, whose fatigue dissipated in moments, grinned. "What kind of friend would I be if I left you all alone in this huge house?"

Lucy blinked. Sure, she enjoyed her time alone (preferably submerging herself into a warm bath or curled up with a book or writing her novel), but it was also true that she really did not like to be _alone_. Somehow, he understood that, and she silently appreciated it.

"Well," she shrugged dramatically, snapping back into reality. "I guess you can spend the night - but on the couch!"

He obeyed, and to her disappointment, he took Happy with him. Soon enough, they both fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, okay. I'm really sorry for the wait, but I started school and things have been _so_ hectic for the last few weeks! Not to mention this is just kind of a filler chapter. **

**Now that I'm in the swing of things at school, I'll be able to get back on a writing schedule - one to two updates per week, probably. It all depends on the amount of homework I get from my teachers.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Thanks to everyone who read/faved/followed/review! You're the best! :)**


	17. Author's Note

p style="text-align: center;"strongAUTHOR'S NOTE/strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Honestly, when I started this story, I expected this to happen. When I first get into a fandom and I write my first fanfiction, it normally doesn't get finished./p  
p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"emTHIS STORY, AS OF NOW, WILL BE DISCONTINUED./em/span/p  
p style="text-align: center;"I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to say this. I've tried countless times to write emone /emmore chapter, but I have no motivation nor inspiration for emThe Fight /emright now. If I somehow get some inspiration, I may come back to update, but that's unlikely./p  
p style="text-align: center;"I'm sorry to everybody who wants this to continue./p 


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